


Behind You

by YamiYugiPuzzleshipper



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: COMPLICATED Puzzleshipping, DARK!Puzzleshipping - Freeform, DM Yugi, F/M, M/M, Season 0 Yami
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-11 08:57:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 231,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11711088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YamiYugiPuzzleshipper/pseuds/YamiYugiPuzzleshipper
Summary: The Millennium Puzzle was always said to harbor the most dangerous of magic. Yugi finds out just how real those legends are when he comes face to face with a creature darker than death itself. DARK!Puzzleshipping AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: Cursing should be relatively mild but sometimes grows a little more at times, Season 0 Yami...and he's a little more unhinged than usual, so keep that in mind.  
> Note: There are mentions of blood, some graphic images of death, sensual moments and feelings, touches of violence/abuse  
> Update Schedule: Since I’ve already completed and posted this story on ff, I am going to try to update it weekly with the edits around updating on ff as well.  
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer’s block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it is appreciated. Please and thank you.
> 
> A Note for the Mini-Series:  
> Their relationship is going to be EXTREMELY COMPLICATED. Literally NOTHING is going to be very easy for Yugi and Yami. And the group is going to become pretty strained and come back together because of it, so keep that in mind. Their behaviors are going to be pretty crazy at times regarding them too. Their relationship is NOT going to be fluffy for the most part, but more unintentionally cruel and painful for both of them. They are BOTH going to end up hurting each other one way or another, whether it's physical or psychological or emotional. It's going to happen. It won't be too terrible for the most part, unless it is necessary for the two of them to grow, in which case I'll put up a warning on the chapter.  
> Also, keep in mind, Yami is not the most reliable character in the world, so if you think he's lying, he probably is. He's going to do a lot of that throughout.
> 
> NOTE: Since I am using their American names, it means the story is somewhat more Americanized or extremely mixed up with some Japanese and some Americanized culture. That also means their attitudes might be slightly OOC to some readers, because they're going to act more American in mannerisms. I'm still balancing out what needs to be used to work for the mini-series, and not all of it would work with only one culture as the standard for the story.

Part I

Chapter I

"Aw, come on, Yug, kick his ass already!" the blond laughed from his spot behind him. He was leaning so far over his shoulder that his body heat warmed his skin and presented itself as a strangely comforting distraction. The smell of the hamburger he had gotten earlier at his favorite fast food restaurant was not nearly as nice. The thick, sour undertone of pickle and mustard made his stomach twist as he glanced at him from the corner of his eye. When the other teen didn't acknowledge his stare, he turned back to the game he had been seated in front of for the last twenty minutes. He was struggling now that he had become distracted and his mind scrambled for the solution. He swore for a moment that the controls and buttons he needed to perform the combo he wanted was in his head. But it vanished just as quickly as it had come, replaced with a sense of sudden alarm and confusion.

It had to be something equivalent a small half-thought flittering through his mind, nothing but a lonely ember biting at the gelid winter air. But it was just noticeable enough to gather his attention and hold it for a single split second. It lacked familiarity or even the slightest touch of warmth and the frigid contact made his spine cold as if it were suddenly carved from ice. The opponent on the screen was steadily destroying his remaining health points but he hardly had the desire to continue playing anymore. The small bite of cold nipped at him again but it was centered in his mind now. It felt like a dull ache, the beginnings of a migraine but soft enough that it lacked the pain that came with it. The sensation left him confused and more than a little dazed as he blinked. The screen flashed in front of his eyes and the music roared in his ears. The controller felt suddenly hot and clammy in his grip, almost as if mocking him now with the body heat it retained.

"No, no, Yug, he's about to win!"

He fought back a tremor to slowly turn around and survey the rather large arcade they occupied. The entire mass of students from their school who came to hang out when hours were over had spread around as they normally did. They remained in their little groups where some played games while other encouraged them to win as his friend had just been doing for him. He continued searching and tried to focus on the warmth of the air around him as the gentle brush of ice in the back of his mind grew slightly stronger. It had grown more persistent, as if he had just done something to amuse it and draw attention to himself.

The hairs on his arms were starting to stand in a bristle beneath the fabric of his uniform jacket. His finger tapped momentarily against the analog stick in his hand before he squeezed for some kind of touch of normalcy. He had to admit he had never truly been one for magic and surreal things despite having grown up with tales of it from his grandpa. But this was impossible to ignore and he could not exactly wave it off as something childish like an overreaction. It was too deep in his core and left him too violently startled to be dismissed. It lingered beneath his skin like a foreign infection and curled like icy smoke; it invaded everything in his sluggish thoughts for a long moment. He nearly scolded himself when he pictured something like a bug crawling in his head, long legs and parasitic claws. It set out grasping and digging and touching all of his memories and it drew them to the surface in the back of his mind.

There was nothing unusual to catch his eye when he looked, however. There were all the normal groups of kids. All of them still wore their school uniforms of royal blue and bright pink after a long day studying behind their desks. But they looked  _soft_ for some reason. It was as if the folds of their clothes or just them in general were too strangely made up, not at all as sharp or strongly defined as the colors normally rendered them. For a second he swore he saw something moving in the corner of his eye and turned his head but found only an abandoned game's screen lit up and awaiting a new player. The lines that made up the shape of the machine were sharp and so much more defined than anything around it. Even the light on the screen seemed far harsher than it should have been. The music momentarily grew louder and beat into his eardrums without mercy before it settled into a smooth rhythm again. He looked around again and drew his hands away from the game controller to dig his nails into his thighs.

The chill in the back of his mind was growing more pronounced with every second. It drifted through his thoughts and seemingly wrapped around each of them to draw something from them that he had no name of. The more he looked, the stronger that brush of ice became. It lingered and grasped and expanded like something was digging its nails in and spreading itself out, but no matter the effort he could find nothing. His body had begun to tighten, reacting as if someone had dropped an ice cube down the back of his shirt, rubbed it along the curve of his spine, and allowed the water to seep into his skin. It left him feeling somehow exhausted yet completely alert and confused. It was unnatural, how heavy he felt as it rendered him incapable of movement.

He swore his heart skyrocketed, but the pulse pounding in his eyes seemed to exist in the center of his mind and it was not racing. Instead it held an eerily calm quality and lacked any bit of surprise or alarm. And while he listened to it in hopes of calming his frayed nerved, he thought his blood froze in his veins to grow as cold as his icy bones.

He searched the immediate area around him again, looking over the faces that he knew from school. All of them were familiar, kids whose names he sometimes forgot but knew for the most part. A small bit of frustration mixed with the ice lingering beneath his suddenly feverish skin. Everything retained that strange, soft quality where it should have been defined. The depth seemed almost completely blurred and confusingly so to the point that shadows bled into the regular shade of royal blue and left him wondering where they began and ended.

And then the colors began to drip. It was as if the lines had blurred irreparably, becoming nonexistent, and had dissipated into thin puffs of smoke. The deeper hue which replaced them made his skin feel hot and feverish, his head spinning as he stared.

He blinked and the heartbeat in his ears sped slightly and then skipped and stopped for a long second before he swore he heard it start up again with audible effort. It lurched into a series of three that sounded distinctly like some kind of violent laughter. He blinked and then rubbed his eyes, looking a second time to keep from drawing suspicion as he found everything in black and dark blue. The colors of the very room around him had taken on a sharply defined distinction of something like an inverted picture carved on a slate of wood or stone. It was scratchy and some of the lines seemed jagged. They trailed off almost like spikes of energy, forks of lightning in white and strange hues of gold, sharp and cruel to the eye.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to suck in a breath around the sweeping chill in his body, and forced himself to slowly look again. For a moment he was almost sickly disappointed yet wholly satisfied when he found that it was completely back to normal.

It was back to bright colors, shades of red and yellow and orange, and loud arcade music, kids playing or messing around with each other. The only heartbeat he was capable of hearing was his own which shook and strained violently in his chest as if it were somehow restarting itself. His lungs ached, taking on a soft rasping quality when he sucked some more air in and managed just barely to keep himself from leaping to his feet. He searched again, his head aching and his chest feeling weak, alarms in his mind still going off somewhere in the back of his mind.

There was nothing to pop up from the air, and not a single thing proceeded to catch his eye or make him stop short, to look a second time. It was all normal again.

His exhale was soft and relaxed, the relief of familiarity settling deep inside of him and pushing away some of his former alarm. Warmth crept its way slowly through his weighted limbs and pushed outwards from somewhere deep inside of his bones. His nerves took on a tingling quality as he closed his eyes for a moment to steady himself and turn back to his friend.

"Dude, what's wrong with you? You look a little pale—well, paler than  _normal_ anyways," he snickered. His lips pulled up into a wide grin at the joke as if it was the funniest in his world. He recognized it as a diversion tactic, something that the other teen used often to make him feel better when he or anyone else around him was uncomfortable. Most often it was used to show that he did not have to talk about something if he didn't feel comfortable enough to but he was there to support him if he needed it.

"Ha, nothing's wrong."  _Or at least…I don't think there is_.  _Not anymore anyways…_ He cast a small glance around. His body tensed, steeling itself in case of the chill that had existed in his bones moments before. It crept across his subconscious suddenly, starting to draw at his being once more as if claws were sinking into his skin and threatening to bring forth blood. But nothing came up and he turned back with a small smile. "I guess I just needed a second. I think I've been playing this game for a little too long. My eyes are kind of starting to hurt."

"Oh, okay."

He stared at the blond, taking in the way that his tall nearly six-foot frame was hunched over to watch the game he had been playing. The smaller boy took in the way that his hands still rested near the controls where his had been formerly. Despite the single health point left in the game for the round, the blond had attempted to beat the level for him, adamant about attempting a win.

They had been best friends since the first semester of the year had started and he had run into a little bully problem with another student almost three times his size named Ushio Tetsu. He was built like a brick, nasty as a rabid dog, easily offended, and just plain dangerous. The massive teen had a tendency to pick out certain students at the school that he referred to as "runts". They were then either put through his program of making them "perfect" as members of the disciplinary committee or offered "protective services" where he demanded an arm and a leg for beating the shit out of whomever he deemed that person's bullies. He had personally been the runt that had been sought out after being spotted one day in the quad. He was also the one that had been charged a "special fee" of  _American_ currency after he had found out that his father worked overseas.

He had managed to keep Ushio from beating Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor too badly with the compromise of taking it instead. The event had sort of brought them together though there were still many moments where the three of them fell flat trying to be the group of best friends they were working to become.

The blond gave him a quizzical look, brows furrowed and lips pursed slightly as he turned his head completely to stare at him. Brown eyes were hit by the light just enough to show off the flecks of cinnamon and the small bit of gray around his pupils among the honey brown shade that gave his irises the depth that they possessed.

"Uh, Yugi?"

"Hmm?"

"What's up?"

"Oh, uh…Nothing," he muttered after a moment, quickly turning away and glancing over his shoulder in a swift search of something that he was far from sure he was actually looking for. He had no idea the source of what had been tugging and crawling over his subconscious. He had nothing to go by but he guessed somewhere in the back of his mind that he would find it in whatever was not familiar.

If truly found something that caught his attention as disturbingly outside of normalcy, what was he going to do? He was pretty sure that one’s vision becoming inverted and screwy around the edges was not normal. And, to face the force of it, what would that truly do for him?

If he had been alone, he would have jumped from his seat and fled. Like any normal person, he would have gotten to his feet and been out of the arcade as quickly as his feet could carry him. It was self-preservation to escape a threat, no matter how unnatural it seemed at the moment.

But to make a scene in front of Joey would mean that he would need to explain. And an explanation was not something he could give him. He blinked a few times, then drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly to keep from sighing out loud. What he would do if he found the source of his alienated sensation, he did not know, but it was kind of intriguing to him to consider. But he also knew that it helped to keep him as calm as he was at the moment.

"Yeah…okay…Hey, look, there's Mai! I didn't know she came here after school!"

Yugi turned his head and looked over at him, following his line of sight to blink as he took in the blonde senior. She was two years ahead of them and going on nineteen. Due to her birthday, she had been held back a year before being allowed into school, making her a year older than the rest of her peers.

The curly-haired platinum blonde was laughing that familiar little musical giggle that always made boys around her practically drool with anticipation. The boy beside him was no stranger to the way she did it, wrapping a single curl of her hair around her finger to entice the people around her. Yugi could have snickered at the way the taller boy looked as if he might drop his jaw and gape at her openly.

She stood with a couple of other girls from their school, a redhead he thought he recognized from the beauty pageant he had been forced into watching with Joey and Tristan after Tristan's crush enrolled. The girl standing with them had glossy black hair who he was more or less relatively sure had transferred the end of the last year. All three of them were seniors and considered the best looking at the school.

But as he looked at them, a chill trickled down his back like spilled ice water, eliciting a shiver as he turned away again immediately. His eyes sought out anything he had missed before or anything that had taken residence among the others in the arcade. The ice slipped through his bones, becoming dangerously familiar far too quickly against his subconscious as it bit at him violently enough that he had to fight off a grimace. A small bit of pain radiated in the back of his skull, flashing and flaring out several times like lines of electricity. It pulsed along his sensitive nerves and receded again almost immediately, just enough to make itself known but no more than that.

Yugi rubbed his eyes more firmly, making his eyelids sting for a moment as he turned back. He blinked first at the screen in front of him where the kung fu fighter danced in victory and then slowly lifted his gaze towards the three seniors again.

Relief swept through him like a gust of wind and he let out a small exhale that he made sure was too quiet for the blond next to him to catch as he continued looking towards the girls.

Mai Valentine was still sometimes dubbed the Domino High Queen for her looks. She still had the brilliant platinum blonde hair that cascaded down her back in soft waves. The strands all curled upwards at the ends and stopped in a long V that settled just above her waist. He had always remembered her eyes as far more brilliant than they were when they had first met.

Maybe it was because now that she wore that smoky eyeshadow and the dark eyeliner so often it made them so much bigger and far more expressive. He knew that the violet that made up her irises was sharp and cunning and devastatingly deep in shade. Her nose was dainty and symmetrically-centered and her perfectly-shaped mouth was painted a deep red as opposed to the soft pink that her lips were naturally. Wave after wave was born from her center-parted hair and semi-curls were something that Yugi always had a habit of playing with when he was around her. The forelock in the center of her forehead was almost the same as his own but much longer. Her neck was still long and slender, with a somewhat deep collarbone.

She still had that perfect posture that just screamed confidence and gave off the statement that she would never allow someone to walk all over her. And it all helped to give her a far more sensual aura than she already possessed with the way that she dressed outside of school.

Most guys—teens or grown adults—tended to do as Joey was beside him, drool and gawk and go wide-eyed when she was within close proximity. Mai had such a sensual aura that it fell into her voice, a quality that Yugi often admired. When she opened her mouth and spoke, she had a strange pitch that came out somewhat raspy when she got flirtatious.

And odds were if she opened her mouth, it came out heavily sensual. It was no secret that she was very quick to get that way when she spoke to someone. It was one of the easiest ways for her to get a guy to do what she wanted—to carry a purse around or shopping bags, to buy her lunch at the mall before she bailed when they blinked. She was more of a playful person than she ever had been serious.

It took him a moment to recognize the redhead that stood at her side as he generally avoided her. Kaoruko Himekoji was a girl with vibrant red hair like live flames in direct sunlight, falling in gentle yet defined waves to settle only a few inches past her somewhat tiny shoulders. From the front her face was heart-shaped but from the side it was sharp and defined. Hints of baby fat layered her cheeks and highlighted her dark green eyes, helping to dispel the gray hue that sometimes came with her outfits. Her eyes were not as sharp as Mai's but the color, as deep as evergreen leaves, made up for the lack of makeup she wore.

Her collarbone lacked the depth that came with the blonde's, but her lips were a little plumper. They were colored bright pink, the normal shade she painted them in order to match the school uniform she wore. She was beautiful but she had a nasty temper, and her personality sometimes reminded him of his math teacher, Ms. Chono. She lacked the mole on her cheek that Joey always joked about in class, but their attitudes were somewhat similar. Their eyes even held a somewhat similar quality but his teacher's hair was darker red and lacked the volume that the teenage girl's held.

The girl in front of him was rather mesmerizing in her own right, with an almost feral quality to accompany her choice of clothes and expression. He remembered the way such a sensation had enveloped the steps of the dance she had done for the pageant.

Her voice had a soft smoky quality that whistled softly in her audience's ears. It was what he imagined a snake's to be, seductive with a hint of menace and enticement that wrapped around you so securely you wouldn't willingly leave.

Vivian Wong had pin-straight black hair that reminded him too much of glossy raven feathers. It held a sheen to it that commonly made that comparison even more distinct in his mind whenever he caught sight of her. Her forehead was covered in chopped bangs in a somewhat feathery design that curved downwards towards the center but layered upwards towards her temples. Her hair was held in two separate strands akin to something of a pair of pigtails. She always had the same earrings on which he had heard her claim one more than one occasion were family heirlooms. They fell into long thin strips of metal that made soft whistling noises when she walked fast enough.

 Her waist was incredibly petite and her brilliant chocolate brown eyes were large but heavily styled with a shadow of kohl. It ran to her temples and disappeared in a sharp point. Her eyebrows mirrored the eyeliner's path, appearing thinner as they went further from the bridge of her button nose. Her lips were always bright pink no matter the outfit she wore and Yugi was relatively sure she had seen her wearing a kimono more often than not.

A metal band was normally on her upper left arm and two large blue-violet and red-violet bangles rested on her right wrist. He thought maybe he had seen her with a fan once or twice with a fuzzy bright pink top like faux feather. And he had only ever seen it when he thought that she was flirting with someone. But the more he looked at her, the more he wondered if he had ever actually heard her  _speak_ rather than whine.

He shook the idea off after a moment to turn towards his friend and grin slyly in amusement. Joey was leaning so far forward, braced against the machine, that no one could mistake what he was looking toward. "You should go talk to her," he encouraged quietly, nearly laughing at the incredulous look he was given as the blond swung around to stare at him in response. Laughter bubbled up in the pit of his stomach, the blond's eyes far too wide to not be comical. "She's really nice."

"You've spoken to her before?" Joey demanded, looking ready to grab him by the shoulders and shake him violently. "What's she like?"

Yugi debated for a moment if he should tell him just how much he talked to her, but settled instead for a small shrug of his shoulders. Joey would figure out later if Mai chose to tell him. "She's…nice. _Very_ nice. I don't really know what you want me to say exactly…"

The tall blond narrowed his eyes and searched his face, smirking widely before poking him in the shoulder roughly. The smaller boy had a vague idea that it would probably bruise on his pale skin. He blinked and trailed his eyes around as his spine tensed beneath his skin. Alarm surged through his system violently once more, but nothing popped out and he found himself beginning to deflate now. He had no idea if the source was going to be something that he could actually handle, but that didn't stop him from being curious about finding it.

"I knew you weren't a virgin."

Yugi froze, his face turning bright red in horror at the assumption. His jaw opened and closed unconsciously as he gagged and covered his mouth with an immediate shake of his head. "Oh my god,  _no_ ," he choked out, shaking his head harder and feeling his face twist into a disgusted grimace.

Mai had always been one of those girls who sometimes dipped into the art of seduction and flaunted her skills when she was given the chance. But he probably would have died if something had happened between the two of them. "No, that is not what…Ew, Joey."

"What? 'Ew'? Are you  _serious_ , dude? She is  _hot_."

Yugi fought off the urge to curl his lip back in blatant disgust once more. A shudder threatened to course down his spine and he wrinkled his nose in an effort to suppress it. "Not to me she isn't."

"Right, I forgot you were into Tea," he muttered dismissively, shrugging it off and turning away again to give the blonde his full attention once more. The smaller teen pursed his lips and glanced between his friend and the girl he was drooling over. He dug his teeth into his cheek, uncomfortable as he looked at the blond next to him.

Tea and Joey seemed to have some kind of feud that existed between them at the moment. He thought it might have been for his crassness during homeroom when he had all but shoved a porn tape into Yugi's hands right in font of her and Tristan, but he was not completely sure. It was just as likely she reserved some of her dislike for the blond because of his bullying him before which had brought on Ushio's “protective services”.

Yugi really had no true concept of what they appeared to be fighting about and so had resolved to stay out of the situation by whatever means necessary. He planned to protect himself from the task of having to wade through all of the potential drama that existed between them. He was more or less sure that she and Joey just did not see eye to eye and maybe they never would. And that was fine by him as long as neither of them dragged him into it.

Yugi had never kept it much of a secret that he favored her over other girls. It was not something he was ashamed of but it also wasn't something he could put a label on with complete certainty. He didn't think it was puppy love or even a true crush because it was never steady and it failed more often than it stayed afloat.

He thought maybe it was just his familiarity with her that made it so difficult to name. It was only just enough to make it somewhat obvious he felt more towards her than the other girls they were often around. She was that rather regular-looking brunette, the typical girl next door that novels were written about.

Her hair was a shade of chestnut brown that rested between light and dark but appeared different some days. And her eyes were large, painted blue with small flecks of something like deep brown around her pupils. Long lashes were emphasized by the light use of mascara and helped to highlight her heart-shaped face. Her cheeks held soft tones of baby fat over her well-defined cheekbones but seemed leaner towards her rounded chin.

Despite the definition of her cheekbones they did not distract from the symmetrical quality her face sported and failed to draw attention immediately upon meeting her. She had the body of a dancer but it was not completely noticeable at times and her overall physical shape was somewhat more pronounced than other girls'. She lacked the feral grace that Kaoruko possessed or the devastatingly keen sense of beauty that came with Mai or the too-skinny and overly dominant trait that came with Vivian.

But Joey had a thing for the very many girls that he had watched in his wide variety of porn tapes and Tea was far from that category. He liked the girls with the larger-than-life breasts that seemed almost like they could suffocate someone if they got too close. He liked the strong legs attached to waists that were either far too thick or too small to be considered "normal". He had a thing for the perfect hair which had to be long enough for him to play with and cascade around the pillows while they were panting beneath him. Joey was a virgin but he had his eyes set on the perfect girl and for him that just so happened to be Mai and no one else as far as he was concerned.

Yugi had never argued or objected his opinion, just let him talk about what he would do with her in bed and how he thought she probably liked it rough. He failed to talk to him about Tea or other girls and he didn't bother with trying to point out that Mai was not some kind of sex machine as he seemed to be deluded into thinking.

"No, I've just talked to her a few times. I actually tutor her on Fridays," Yugi mumbled in response with a slow shake of his head. Pain like a fresh stab in the back of his skull, cold as ice, hit him for a split second before seemingly retreating permanently. The sensation made him nearly panic.

Despite himself, against his common sense, he had been hopeful of finding the source. He had the intense, overwhelming desire to see what it was that had been there. He wanted to know what had so keenly been a part of his thoughts, stroking and caressing in the darkness of his mind.

The idea of its absence becoming so permanent as to render him unable to see it made his head spin. He was terrified of such possibility. It scared him even more than he thought the idea of this somehow being a manifesting disease ever could.

The moment he felt that small bite of panic, it came back in the form of a tiny pinprick of an ice shard. Discomfort made him dig his fingers further into his thighs even as it once again took on something synonymous of the beginnings of a headache. The fact that it had returned almost made him cry out with relief and joy.

Now he just hoped that nothing would happen with his sight again in the meantime. He knew for a fact that he would vomit if it came over him so abruptly a second time. He waited silently for a long minute, steeling himself just in case but trying to make himself seem a little open and welcoming with an effort to sit back and relax.

Yugi prepared himself for that strange foreign heartbeat to reach his ears again, suddenly desperate for its strange melody. But nothing happened and he couldn't tell if he was disappointed or relieved. He tried to focus on one rather than the other, drawing more on relief as a minute ticked by and left him with a somewhat hollow sensation.

"Tell her that her hair looks nice or something."

Joey gave him a wry look as Yugi bit back some laughter. "Don't use my advice against me. That was good advice. I swear you could have gotten a kiss out of her if you had just complimented her a little," he grumbled, rolling his eyes and smirking playfully. "You missed your chance."

"Tea was not about to kiss me and you know that," he laughed, rolling his eyes and glancing around once more with a quick sweep of his eyes, searching and finding nothing once more. "Besides, she wasn't even happy with the curls. And I had already told her that I thought they looked nice."

"See, no. Nice is  _not_ how you compliment to get laid. You tell them that they're smoking hot and sexy and you might just get there." He held up his index finger and smirked, winking at him. "And I think this might be my cue to go in and steal Mai's heart."

"Good luck," he snickered, nodding encouragingly as the blond straightened and gave him a playful scoff.

" _Luck_? I don't need luck.  _Observe_ , young grasshopper," he announced, winking and then turning to walk off towards the blonde with a confidence forced into his gait. Yugi smiled in amusement at the way his back was straightened and his chin raised slightly.

The smaller boy shook his head and watched until he and the blonde were talking, Mai's expression slightly surprised but openly pleased. He saw Vivian and Kaoruko share something between them before wandering off when Mai spoke to them. He had to admit that the action struck him as somewhat odd but he didn't honestly care enough to question it. It would have distracted him from observing the blond until he was sure that they were both having an actual conversation and Joey wouldn't run off at any moment to talk to him again.

He smiled a little, seeing that the blond was working some kind of charm over her, and then turned back to the screen in front of him. Yugi watched the pixilated fighter dance on screen in challenge, flexing and gesturing towards the message at his feet saying "Pay a quarter to play".

He did have a few that he could spare and it wasn't as if the game was boring at any rate. He often spent after school hours just playing it with any challenger that popped up to fight him. It would be a good enough distraction to keep him from growing bored or worrying about Joey in the meantime.

He slipped a few coins into the slot to avoid paying later and pressed the button to activate the controls. The theme music thrummed softly in the air around him as he looked it over. He caught the tail ends of some shouts of a couple of students around him as he started to pick his character but the pressure in the back of his head hadn't grown and he was starting to doubt that anything would happen with it.

He was working on his fourth opponent when he heard someone moving from behind him to his side. He felt the disturbance of the air from their movements, beating into his back like a gust of wind that should have been soft but nearly knocked the oxygen out of his lungs.

Yugi didn’t bother to look up from the black-belted white-suited kung fu artist he was controlling on the screen. They would most likely drift towards one of the seats nearby but put at least one between them. Most of the players who wanted to challenge him did it that way. He hummed and the sounds of punches and kicks and “K.O.” shot into the air and across the screen, helping him to focus more solely.

Besides, he doubted that they would care for him looking up and offering a smile before going back to his game. But he did startle a split second later. The sound of weight being shifted caught his ear again.

They took the seat next to him, clothes softly rustling against the smooth stool top making his eyes widen. They hadn't moved further along in the row of games lined back to back. It was hardly the fact that they had chosen the seat beside him. After all, he was used to some other students doing so to see if they could learn a few tricks from him while he was playing.

It was the fact that he heard it over his game, over the sounds of grunts and fighting and loud theme music that should have made the noise completely nonexistent. It should have been buried beneath his game's audio. His spine tensed beneath his skin as his stomach flipped and bile rose in his throat and scorched the muscle. Alarms blared in his head, pain soaring with the noise as it echoed viciously.

He tightened his grip on the analog stick in front of him until his hand started to hurt and the grooves burned his fingers like open flames. His skin was crawling, as if it had been set on fire suddenly, and a low pulse of pain throbbed in his head. He ignored the newcomer pointedly, continuing his game despite the terror that gripped his stomach and squeezed. His head spun for a moment, mouth growing dry as he recognized the fear that had made his heart skip and his lungs constrict painfully.

Yugi stared at the belt around his character's waist, trying to focus on it entirely, swallowing hard but trying not to appear nervous. He hadn't been prepared. He had been curious but he had not been prepared.

"Hmm…you seem pretty good at this game."

Yugi stopped short, his movements ceasing altogether on the screen as he blinked and forced himself to relieve some of the tension in his shoulders and aching spine. He folded his tongue against the roof of his mouth, ice traveling down his throat as he breathed. He needed to focus on the match he was about to start in.

But the remnants of the statement echoed heavily in his ears, wisps of commentary. The voice was deep and husky, lilting in ways that Yugi didn't know it could. It was achingly bottomless and threatened to send him plummeting straight into its depths, all of it furthering the effect of the baritone pitch it possessed.

"I, um…I play it a lot," he admitted with a small laugh that he could only compare to a choked breath. The small teen fought back a broken groan at his inability to speak properly and his ignorance towards the initial decision to ignore them altogether. But if he had ignored him, Yugi couldn't see himself coming out of that very easily.

Perhaps it would have turned into something much worse than just his discomfort with the other boy next to him. Stumbling and stuttering through his sentences was something that normally pissed others off brutally for whatever reason. But ignoring another's presence—especially when spoken to—normally called upon the instinct to react and demand attention. Stuttering normally at least got them to leave him alone or earned him nasty little snickers and ruthless teasing. Ignorance probably would have gotten him a black eye or a busted lip, maybe broken ribs if he was really unlucky. Yugi had not stuttered in years, for so long that it seemed almost foreign that he was even considering it in the moment, but the shock that had come with that voice had startled him enough to fall back into it.

The person next to him let out a content hum, a deep soothing noise that made his spine tingle with confusion and warmth. He blinked and forced himself halfheartedly to concentrate on his game again, hoping that the conversation would end there. He prayed mentally to every god he knew of—Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and even the ones from the _Magic_ card series—that it would end there.

He swallowed hard as the reality of the situation slammed into him again. He wasn't ready for this. He had overestimated himself when he had thought he would be able to see the source of the discomfort in the back of his head. He had been stupid to think he could handle the being that had brought forth the parasite that was crawling through his thoughts.

But, by the gods, if his curiosity had not burned beneath his skin with a need that left him dizzy. He couldn't help but want to risk a glance towards the other boy but the thought vanished immediately when he heard the shifting of his weight. It was soft and low and only recognizable by the rustle of his clothing being wrinkled in new ways from the change of position, the sound of the stool being weighted down more firmly.

His nose was bombarded by something that he could only ever describe as ice—simple and pure and overly intoxicating—wrapped around something like chilled moonlight—fresh and brilliant and lingering somewhere between dark and light—and hiding an undertone of ever-present darkness—seductive and cold and infinite. It was intoxicating and dangerous, sending chills down his spine that he knew were not only fear. Where he would have listened to his instincts at any other moment in his life, this scent drew him in with the exotic extremity and unfamiliarity that came with it.

It made his pulse race, exhilaration coursing through him for some reason, euphoric in every sense of the word. It drew at his very being and seemed to wrap around him so completely that it was impossible for him to turn away.

"Yes, I've noticed," the other boy murmured and Yugi blinked, gawking at the screen as his character took a hit and went flying to the other side of the platform, health points disappearing immediately. He was going to lose again. He went to grab the controls and try to turn the situation around when the smell got stronger and his hands were pushed away.

He shuddered at the chill that met his skin, almost like clammy flesh brushing against his, but lacking the perspiration that came with it. He stared down at the hands that had taken place of his, absorbing the definition of long slender digits that looked—for only a small split second—nearly skeletal in their pale hue before seeming to draw in a vibrant, beautiful shade of golden-bronze.

It was a rich color, warm to the core in shade, and gave off a strange sense of security that sent Yugi's mind into a race. He was well aware that it was his own desperation to find something normal where there really wasn't much to grasp at in the first place.

The hands pulled away and Yugi followed them to the very edge of the machine and no further, unsure of what more to do. The game went off in a chime of victory, telling him that he had won and he breathed in deeply once, exhaling a weak "Thank you" that earned him a deep chuckle that sounded oddly warm yet dangerously hollow all at once.

He shook off a tremor and leaned forward to grip the controller again, slightly unnerved by the dulled warmth that lingered there against the plastic. The smell that had burned itself into his memory so abruptly was no longer keen and seemed nearly nonexistent.

But he knew he was there, watching, and he did not need to turn his head to know; it was impossible not to. The area around him seemed blanketed in cold, lapping at his skin and seeping its way through his clothing like wind for several small split seconds before fading away again entirely. But even if that wasn't in the forefront of Yugi's mind, there would have been the fact that his aura in general seemed all-consuming and dangerous, enticing to the core and invigorating. No one could miss that.

And Yugi had no doubt that the boy knew this as well. Why no one else seemed to react to this was a mystery to him as it was impossible to miss. It was burning like dry ice against their skins. It had to be. It was like some kind of powerful force—a god of some sort—walking among them and sitting under the guise of human flesh.

He shook the thought off with a small quivering breath that seemed strangled in his lungs as he forced himself to focus on his game. He narrowed his eyes at the sudden realization that this boy beside him had no intention of leaving anytime soon. The frustration that came with the thought helped just enough to push him through the next round despite the feel of his lungs straining in his chest.

He squeezed his eyes shut of a moment and gripped the controller tighter. Yugi fought off the urge to turn his head and face him, knowing that if he looked then it became more real than he thought he could truly deal with. If he didn't look, he could maybe convince himself that he was just having an off day. He wouldn't have to try to talk sense into himself or look for confirmation of the strange sensation that had not ceased to announce itself to him.

He listened to a shift of clothing,  _felt_ the breath that left the other boy as if it were his own, and then went completely still. An inhale almost like a tiger scenting fresh blood made his heart lurch. The nape of his neck stung like someone had pricked him and his skin was falling asleep. The muscle that touched the bottom of his jaw was inappropriately cold for a split second but drew warmth as it traveled further along his face. It took a strategically, horrifyingly slow pace upwards, flattening out and then moving straight to his temple and his hairline before finally pulling away.

Images flashed through his head for a long moment. Tigers eating their catch. Wolves snarling with every tooth shown. Blood dripping from long canines. Froth bubbling out of a rabid dog's mouth. Incisors bared and cutting their way through his mind.

Yugi trembled before he knew what he was doing, his skin twitching as he turned his head without a single hesitation. He stared at the other boy with a shocked expression, his lips falling into an "o" shape and his mouth opening slightly to grasp at a weak inhale. His nerves tingled and burned, numbed with horror as he stared at the other boy. At first he thought that perhaps he was looking at a creature out of storybooks, something akin a demon. And the way that his thin lips curved up into a disgustingly sultry, predatory smirk only reinforced the idea. His body froze in place and his mind trembled as his reality shook, falling into a state of disconnect.

But…why would a demon…look so much like him?

He would have mistaken the other boy before him as his reflection in a mirror if not for the fact that he had sharper features and a more definite gaze that bore into his like knives stabbing into his skin. He was taller—he had to be; his leaner build and the position of his legs said he had a few inches over him—and his hair was wilder. His eyes were as sharp as daggers with color like fresh blood and the cruelest gleam he had ever seen before.

He was a distinctly matured jaw, beautifully carved and sharp lines of bones beneath smooth perfectly shaded skin, with thin lips that made the most dangerous smirk. It was lopsided and disarming in every way, almost feigning a long-time familiarity akin friendship in the easy pull of his lips.

He was cunning sharp teeth when he parted his lips and showed off his canines in a sultry expression of white enamel and the hint of a pink tongue and seemingly bloodstained gums.

He was a gaze of burning fire like liquid rubies and vibrant dancing flames with an intensity and depth that held far too much wisdom and strength. His pupils bled, seemingly out of center and stretched in every direction so that the circular shape was lost in comparison to staring at a burst of light in surreal darkness. Cruelty and laughter and contempt and open brutality lingered around the edges of a dangerously feral predatory aura framed by long dark lashes.

He was sharp thin eyebrows furrowed to enunciate the state of mockery as his nose wrinkled and he sneered silently in laughter with that startling smirk plastered to his face.

He was long goldenrod bangs like knives that stretched to the left and dropped to his jaw on the right with a streak of lightning traveling through pitch blackness beneath tips of fire. Two other streaks rose above his bangs and made him that much more alluringly dark and menacingly beautiful to the eye, all-encompassing and mesmerizing.

He was…the older, red-eyed version of Yugi himself…

"Oh my god…"

"You are not completely incorrect," the other boy snorted as his eyes flashed and his smirk widened. He leaned forward to touch his jaw and tip his chin up slightly to look him over with a cynical scrutinizing glare. "And look at  _you_! You're all baby fat and soft curves. I was expecting more, honestly."

"Excuse me?" Yugi breathed out, shaking his head and trying to banish some of the shock and confusion that lingered in his system. The fingers resting beneath his chin curved upwards so that his nails dug into the tender flesh for a moment. He stared at the other boy, taking in his posture and seeing the way that though he was tipping his face up, the red-eyed teen sat with his back straight. His legs were partially open, a knee tipped further forwards, eyes keen as they bore into his, other arm resting on his thigh. And Yugi took a moment to recognize the slight tilt of his head, the way that he openly challenged him with that mere position. It was something akin what one would give another when they had encroached on their territory. "What does that mean?"

It was only after the other teen's eyes lowered themselves that he even realized that his thumb was moving over the corner of his lips, coaxing them open with gentle touches. He ignored him blatantly, instead glancing up at him for a moment so that their eyes locked.

Yugi found himself dizzy and falling under some kind of thick haze as they flickered and flared like open flames. He was staring into never-ending spirals of red that burned into his soul and engraved itself there. He was drowning in pools of bright red blood, choking and flailing and struggling.

And Yugi swore he could see himself in those distorted pupils, soft lines of flesh and baby fat with wide eyes and long lashes. He was a horrified expression and long bangs of goldenrod…almost the complete opposite of the boy in every way but the hair. He swore he saw the live terror and mystification that existed inside of him, swirling and warring with each other, confused and drowning him from the inside.

He felt a tremor rack his fame as the other teen tilted his head and his nose burned momentarily with the thin frosty scent that came with the action. His mind raced with fear, not sure of what to do and half-expecting the boy in front of him to lean forward and dig his sharp teeth into his neck. Maybe he would eat his flesh while he screamed and writhed on the floor, bled and thrashed with no hope of survival…

"Well, don't you have a beautiful little imagination?" the boy purred softly, a distinct rumble in the back of his throat that made Yugi choke in shock. Had he spoken out loud or was he…? No, he couldn't hear his thoughts…could he?

He shifted a little closer, his back still held completely straight and stiff in challenge and his head tilted so that he seemed to loom over him. His breath came out like an icy mist as it fanned his lips and left him fighting off another hint of numbness. His face twisted into a cruel smirk, voice dripping as he murmured, "Oh, but I can. And how beautifully deceiving your face is to your mind, don't you think? Blood and guts spilled in a public place. Me eating your heart out…I wouldn't have figured you could think with such disgusting vividness."

Yugi shivered and moved to reach out to push him away, hands firm even as his mind seemed to shake once more with the new reality of the boy's words and the intrusion promised with their existence. He settled a light grip on his shoulders but could not find it in himself to push the other away, instead breathing shakily at the shock that assaulted him with the action.

This boy—or creature or _whatever he was_ —had knowledge over him, something that he couldn't fathom, let alone tap into as well. He was delving into his mind, scraping and searching and bleeding his thoughts for the last ounce of shape and being they had, parasitic in every way.

He could feel him somewhere in there as he tried to come to grips with the very idea. He could feel the chill seeping into his skull and furthering its reach among his thoughts and memory. It lingered and mapped out a path through his mind, digging into his being and holding him captive from the inside…

He laughed softly, as if Yugi had just told him a brilliant joke that was just funny enough to elicit a response though not a big one, and the smaller teen froze in place as he leaned forward and their mouths connected. He was breathing into him at first, random wisps of cold darkness and refreshing ice that seemed to travel straight through him. It seeped through his ribs and into his lungs, his heart, some kind of surreal sensation like his soul was leaving his body for a split second.

And then his lips moved, soft where he had thought they would be as hard and sharp as the rest of him, smooth and warm unlike the tongue that had scraped against his cheek. Or the hands that had touched him in order to take control of the game he was still sitting in front of, whose shrill "game over" theme he could still hear buzzing in the back of his mind as if drifting through dense fog.

 _Warm and soft_ …

Yugi trembled at the whisper that spread through his mind in a fragmented thought that he couldn't find the strength to focus on. Confusion and growing fear spread through him slowly as the other boy continued kissing him. His fingers tightened from where they rested on his slim shoulders, perhaps to the point that they would bruise. But he still could not find it in himself to push him away like he knew instinctively he should have. He was busy staring at the other boy's face from beneath his lashes. He was busy searching his golden-bronze skin for something to draw his focus and give him enough strength to push him away.

He was cold and bottomless, like moonlight on a winter night, too strange for him to truly understand as his tongue pressed into his mouth. His free hand trailed along his spine before clenching a fistful of his school uniform, sinking his nails into his skin through the thin fabrics after a long moment. He felt the stool moving before he could recognize it or the screech it let out and he blinked as he was pulled closer. The other boy's knees slipped between his and spread his legs open until he was uncomfortable and nerves drilled into him. He was pulled flush against the other boy too quickly for him to even consider what was going on. His grip was too tight to be comfortable and the nails in his back and chin dug into his flesh further.

The other boy paused just long enough to breathe raggedly through his nose without pulling his lips from his. Yugi felt a small bit of alarm at the fact that he had failed to recognize his own lightheadedness from being denied air. He pushed, relieved when he found that he did not fight him, instead pulling away with his lips curled back to show off his sharp canines. A soft snarl separated the air between them and hummed in his eardrums even as the look in those red eyes screamed frustration. The smaller boy breathed in harshly, lost about what to do at any point aside from draw in as much air as he could.

The burning gaze flashed with impatience, a soft snarl leaving his mouth and making Yugi blink once more in alarm. He squeezed his eyes shut for a long moment, drawing in some kind of false security. For a split second he felt so odd and disconnected that he couldn't even tell if his heart was still working, forcing him to focus in on the noise that it should have been making. The soft thumping met his ears, allowing him a hint of relaxation at the knowledge that it was working despite his momentary doubts. It shook slightly, beating far too quickly with anticipation and exhilaration, apprehension, but it was steady despite the chill that had settled in his chest. He almost laughed at himself, truly tempted to, but the entire situation was far too strange for him to make the noise come forth no matter his attempts.

The boy shifted in his seat, the noise startling him enough to make his eyes snap open to stare at the other. He found himself drawn into a glare of dangerously gleaming red orbs that burned into his for a moment before he smirked and pulled him forward once more. Yugi grabbed at his shoulders a second time, unsure of what else to do in his state of shock and panic. He couldn't fight the mouth that once again came over his, melting into it. He was not even sure if it was the strength that the boy's aura exerted or if it was the situation. But still he was held captive and incapable of shoving him away as he would have with someone else.

The kisses were not harsh or dominating in any way, but it was alarming and terrifying all at once regardless. It spiked at his senses and made him squirm viciously with frustration with his inaction. Especially with the way that things seemed to click and slide into place in his mind. It stirred at the inner depths of his thoughts, a familiar sensation as if he had done it before. It felt completely fluid and simple, as if the entire thing brought him serenity and surrender, a strange sweetness.

And, for a moment or two, it felt as if he were giving in to something more powerful than himself, more compelling than the will to live or the fear of death. But it didn't stop the sense of foreboding that was slowly settling in the pit of his stomach. It burned its way into the center of his mind and the confusion slowly began to pick at his sluggish senses once more.

Were those even his emotions?

He didn't think they could be. They were so disconnected and jumbled and broken in so many places that they were bleeding into one another. They seemed to build momentarily into distorted pieces of shattered glass with edges as sharp as knives before disappearing all at once. And that did not make sense to him. Yugi had never felt such a sensation before. But he had also never experienced the fear he had the moment that this boy had come near him. The taller boy dragged his nails down along the ridges of his spine, paying extra attention to the grooves between, and the pleasure sent him into a spiral. A strangled noise crawled its way upwards from the back of his throat at the action; the amusement and strange elation that came with this was certainly not his either.

Fuck, so what _was_ his exactly?

Yugi squirmed and breathed out a broken moan into the other boy's mouth when he was pulled closer still. The hand on his chin moved down to his hips and traveled along the line of his pelvic bone to cup him through the fabric. Small tremors ran through him from the light touches, his body unfamiliar with the sensation of another's hands on him there, tracing such delicate but intricate patters through his jeans.

Did he tell him to stop? He was growing unsure of whether he should. As wrong as the entire situation was, something about it felt a little right—possibly because he had never had someone touch him there or really anywhere before—and it was a jagged piece of a sharp reality that bit at his entire body with shock and left him breathless.

The other teen pulled away, moving his mouth to his ear and hissing, "Want to bleed?"

" _Huh_?"

He was shoved roughly backwards but the hand still around his back held him in place even as the stool crashed beneath him and his flailing brought the other boy with him to the floor. The rattling of the stools made his ears ring and he swore he could feel the vibrations from the metal colliding with the tile, and Yugi breathed raggedly. Startled confusion slammed into him with enough force to make him cringe even as his ears continued ringing with the loud vibrations. _What the hell_?

"They do not exist here with us," he growled into his ear, forcing him flat on his back before he could truly think about trying to attempt a chance at fleeing. His eyes flickered around again, thoroughly confused out of his mind and feeling sick with it. This entire thing seemed like something in a story and the question of what the other meant by that statement made his heart skip and his body feel stiff with discomfort. Yugi's eyes slowly slid towards the other boy, a strange eerie glow making up the ring around those disturbing pupils. The black receded slightly as the irises took on a gleam like lights beneath a swimming pool, sparkling and seeming to twist around without form.

"What does that mean?" he demanded after a long moment, squeezing his shoulders and searching his face wildly for any clue as to the meaning behind his words. The other boy ignored him to situate himself between his legs. His knees pressed on either side of his hips and his shins forced his thighs apart in a way that was painful but sent waves of euphoria crashing through him. He took a moment to steady his breathing some, to try to collect his thoughts. But all he could do was hear those words circulate and bounce around inside his skull, desperate for attention and refusing to cease. "They're right there."

"We see them but they cannot see us," the other boy murmured in a low husky curl of his voice, lifting his head to reveal the cold smirk that claimed his lips as he glanced over at the blond. Yugi twisted awkwardly beneath him, having to wiggle his torso and stretch himself out completely to be able to see past the other boy's shoulder and spot Joey. He turned back to the smaller boy and Yugi blinked at the feel of the other boy's gaze burning into his face before he slowly looked back to him. He stared into blood red eyes that narrowed into slits of gleaming garnet before the hand that held his shirt slipped around his back. Fingers scratched a path along his skin that made him arch his spine in pleasure, breathless as he gasped softly and the other smirked widely.

"What the hell are you doing?" Yugi managed to spit out from beneath a moan of pleasure as the other's hand started to work at massaging him through his jeans. He reached up to push him away but a small wave of pleasure and desire swept through him, gentle as a breeze of wind. His hand instead slipped beneath the cotton of his shirt and felt along the knobs of his arched spine. So cold…his skin was so  _cold_ and soft, like some kind of frozen satin or smoothed out ice. Why was he so cold?

He let out a low noise like a snarl, lips twisting up to show off his teeth and gums that still looked like fresh blood. His gaze gleamed dangerously with a feral light that gave him the small answer of something that had been bothering him in the back of his mind since the very moment he had first locked eyes with the other boy. The darkness that made up those strange pupils, the way he held himself, the chill that came with him, why Yugi had been far more startled by him than he had first thought possible.

He looked, in this moment, with his eyes glowing and shadowed, as if he had no trace of humanity left inside of him. He looked as if he were a shell of a person with a foreign entity harboring his body.

The boy seemed to hear his thoughts once more because now he smirked and purred, "Smart little Yugi" in a voice that made his heart dip as it curled its way through his ears. He blinked and shook his head slightly, pulling his hand out from beneath his shirt to grab at his skull gently with his hands. The snarl that came out sounded almost startled instead of aggravated and Yugi ignored it in order to pull his mouth to his. He wondered why he chose to do so somewhere in the very back corners of his mind. But the only one that came to him was the pleasure he felt and the desire to, as the other boy had put it, _bleed_.

The reality of the situation burned at his subconscious and tore through him like razors cutting into his flesh. But he wouldn't stop and his grip never loosened. The boy breathed out in a sharp noise like a frustrated sigh that Yugi ignored steadily in favor of lacing his tongue with his. It earned him a spark of surprise that festered beneath his skin in the forefront of his mind and made him want to grin. The boy probably hadn't guessed that he would do something like this, but this still was not enough to make him push him away.

He wasn't sure if he was going to attempt forcing him away by scaring him into the action or if he was actually going to work to find some kind of middle ground for them to balance precariously upon. Obviously the boy had come to him for something, right? Because, now that Yugi took it into account, he had specifically waited until Joey had wandered off to come to him.

The kiss was sloppy and inexperienced, lacking the fluidity that the other teen seemed to possess, a predatory grace that Yugi simply didn't have. The boy above him didn't truly try, seemingly too startled by his actions. And Yugi had no experience with this past what he had just done with the teen himself and a peck on the cheek when he was younger. So he was stumbling along in the dark and the other teen was not willing to attempt to oblige to his tentative coaxing. He moved his left leg enough to kick the boy's knee into his wrist, enough of a hint to pull him over his thighs and straddle his hips.

"Who are you?" he finally managed to rasp out, pulling away just enough to breathe against his lips and keep his grasp firm among the silky soft strands of his hair. The other boy stayed still for a moment and failed to speak. Yugi watched him closely with darkened eyes, studying and hoping he would say something to give him some kind of idea of what to do. His instincts were screaming for attention but he couldn't decipher what it was they were telling him to do. He couldn't understand nor find it in himself to truly make out what it was his instincts shouted. Because, when it came down to it, Yugi was lost and had no idea of what he should have been doing or what they were trying to tell him. It was not to run or fight as it would have been for anyone else. But it was strong, devastatingly, and it raged beneath his skin, something primal and vicious and impossible to ignore. Something that he thought the other boy shared though it was impossible to be sure.

The red eyes widened slightly as if he had just triggered something in the back of his mind and the taller teen jerked away from him. Yugi grasped at his shirt tightly, trying to keep his grip on him, struggling because something in the back of his mind said he was going to escape before he got his answer. Red eyes flashed murderously and his lips curled back to show off his teeth. His incisors looked sharper and almost canine-like for a split second, but it was gone again immediately. His grip tightened further but the teen slipped from his grasp like beads of water and Yugi swore he felt something curling around his finger for a split second. It was cold like ice, causing him to blink and gawk in shock. The red-eyed teen disappeared completely as if he had never existed in the first place. The sounds around him became loud and undiluted, almost pounding into his skull and festering like an open infection before it dulled again to its normal range.

He looked around immediately again, searching blindly without the desire to pull himself to his feet, feeling oddly sick and disoriented. His head swam for a moment and his blood coursed through his veins far too quickly. His heart pounded as his lungs suddenly struggled to supply him with enough oxygen. For a split second he swore that his vision had become inverted again. There was only darkness with white lines that were far too sharp and jagged, mimicking broken glass and knife points. And it all awaited the moment he pricked himself on one and bled.

"Yug, what the hell are you doing on the ground?" Joey asked, half-laughing and more than slightly concerned though he didn't move towards him. He remained in place at Mai's side, staring with the most concerned of brown eyes. The blonde next to him smiled with a teasing expression but her eyes spoke volumes of worry as he looked at them blankly.

"I just fell off my stool," he replied, forcing a laugh and climbing to his feet to dust himself off before glancing at the screen he had formerly been seated in front of. Something in the back of his mind screamed for attention, fear and adrenaline pumping through him for a moment. He realized, belatedly, that the chill of ice that had crossed through him before was completely gone.

Yugi stared at the dead character on the continue screen, the numbers that were rapidly depleting in value, and chewed his cheek before looking at his friend once more. Joey had turned away and was back to talking to Mai but he could feel it when the blond turned his attention to him occasionally with worried glances. He smiled at him weakly in response before turning away again to stare at the screen before him.

Warm and soft…

He stared at the screen, his eyes starting to burn from the bright colors. That had not been him who had thought that, had it?

It had been the boy, the one who looked so much like him and vanished into thin air…

Yugi bit his lip until blood coated his tongue. The coppery liquid flooded his mouth and left him in a momentary daze. He had bled when he was with him. He had been unable to stop himself from fully embracing the pain that came with it. But now he was beginning to feel a small spike of exhaustion creeping through his bones. It was pleasurable and disgusting and now that he had a moment to truly wrap his mind around the idea of what he had just done, he was finding his exhaustion pushed away by fear.

"Hey, Joey?"

"Yeah?"

Yugi looked over after a moment and offered a small grin. He had to make himself seem more relaxed. And he thanked the gods for the lack of tremble in his voice. "I think I'm going to go ahead and go home. I need to make sure I finish my homework. Chono is really riding my ass over the last math test we had."

The blond blinked and frowned. "Oh yeah, sure, just give me a—"

"No, I think I'll go alone. No need to cut a day at the arcade short for me," he stated, smiling again before grabbing his backpack from where it rested beneath the machine. For a moment he felt as if something had slipped from his mind or something was just completely off. But he shook it off immediately, not wanting to dwell. There was only so much he could do to keep sane if he dwelled on something like this. Then again, with the exit the boy had taken, he doubted he had any sanity left.

"You sure, man? I don't mind going with you, you know…"

Yugi nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. I think I can manage walking a couple of blocks alone," he teased, winking at Mai before walking out. The two of them would probably be there for a while as it was. But Yugi swore he could still hear Joey just wondering about what it was between the two of them. He figured he would get a good laugh out of it later when Mai told him—well, _if_ he could get her to go out with him in the first place, anyways. She had always told him she would make him work for it if he was actually worth dating. And he had to admit he really hoped he was, if only because he didn't want to have to hear about how she had not even given him a real chance.

As he had been expecting, the moment he managed to relax even slightly his mind circled immediately right back to the red-eyed boy. He had guessed it would happen. It was one of those things that he didn't want to be fixated with but it refused to be left alone. And, as terrifying as it was, he had to admit somewhere deep inside of him he thought he had never felt something that strongly before in his life. It was impossible for him to actually compare that intensity to something that seemed by far much more lacking.

As it was, growing up he had always been worried that maybe he felt things in a way that could only be counted as halfway. It was his theory for not feeling crushed whenever Tea seemed to like someone else. It was his explanation for drifting in and out of his crush on the brunette. It was his thought on why his self-pleasuring wasn't nearly as addicting as Joey claimed it was for him. It was as if he had never gotten the full experience of adrenaline or fear or excitement. He didn't know the taste of full happiness or sorrow. And it had always troubled him but he had never told anyone about it before.

He had never been able to find it in himself to tell someone about the idea that he had been experiencing things only halfway. He didn't know how to phrase it though that was the least of his worries. In all actuality, he was sometimes afraid that it would slip out suddenly, that someone would think he was mental and he would end up being admitted. He was terrified of the idea, always had been. And now he was more or less sure that if he was not careful he would lose his mind.

How did someone vanish like that?

Had he hallucinated the boy's disappearance?

Had he hallucinated the boy's entire existence?

He shook the idea off, instead kicking a stone ahead of him and trying to focus on anything else he could run across. A car honked as it passed by a kid on a bicycle further up the street and he watched them curiously. When he had been twelve he had nearly gotten himself hit by a car while crossing the street. His parents had freaked out brutally and he had witnessed the sight of his worried grandpa's face. Yugi himself, however, had gotten over it almost immediately. He had never even focused on it even as it had happened. The fear, even then, had not been nearly as strong as it had the moment that the boy had stepped into his personal space. The pain in the back of his head from where he had seemed to brush against his subconscious like that was so much stronger and more brutal than any kind of physical pain he had ever endured. It far overpowered that of Ushio's punches and kicks.

It had felt as if something was festering somewhere deep inside of him, killing him from the back of his mind rather than making him bleed. But all of it had been intensified in ways that he had never experienced before—the fear, the shock. It had amplified the very fact that the boy was enticing to the core. It had drawn him in further than anything he had ever been exposed to before. Aside from the Millennium Puzzle he had been given when he was eight, he doubted that anything had gathered his attention and held it in such a way. Never had a  _person_ managed to enrapture him so much that he had drowned in emotion and forgotten how to breathe in the midst of everything.

And he had kissed back. That fact alone meant something as well, possibly more than anything else. He had been raised by a mother who believed that kisses were far more intimate than sex could ever be. He had always been told that regardless of intimacy, both of them had to have meaning or he would regret it later.

Yugi tilted his head and debated the thought of his decision to kiss the other boy back. Did he regret doing so? Technically, no, but now that he was away from him, he did not find anything out of it either. It was just something that hadn't struck him as important in the moment. And trying to wrap his mind around it and analyze it gave him only indifference towards the entire subject. Or maybe…maybe indifference was just how he always felt. Honestly, he felt no different now than he did when he was with his friend or around others.

He stopped short for a second, trying to find something to grasp at and center himself to remind him that he was not completely emotionless all of the time. Hadn't he been embarrassed when his teacher had gone off on him during class for having done poorly on his test? Or perhaps he had simply gone through the notions of it in order to feign the emotion that he knew he should have experienced in that moment.

No, that wasn't possible, was it?

No, that would have made him a sociopath.

Or an emotionless robot.

Yugi furrowed his brows and shook his head slowly, swallowing hard as he turned the corner and his molars dug into his cheek in frustration. No, he had felt emotions but maybe most of the time he just fell back into indifference. Maybe it was just the steady thing for him as a teenager where others got anxious or gloomy or something.

He  _had_ experienced emotions. It was just that they had always been so much smaller. They had never left him so completely stunned and unable to react before. Nothing had done that to him before in his life. Yet with this boy they had come out sharp and shocked him like lightning bursting through his system in violent sparks. That was what had been so new and different.

It was not the experience of actually feeling an emotion. It was just that before it had seemed as if he had been encompassed by a bubble that had protected him from the full effects of any emotion he had gone through. It had been something of an experience like crawling into the back of one's mind when reality became stressful. The emotions were there but only halfway, bearable where they could potentially be overwhelming. But whereas crawling back into the mind was temporary, this was constant and never changed.

Now the boy had managed to somehow pop his bubble and he was being left with confusion. He had no real idea of whether having this knowledge was a good thing or a bad one. What was he supposed to do with him?  _Was_ there truly anything he  _could_ do? If the boy was what had brought it out in him like this, then did that mean he was supposed to be around him more often? Did it mean he was supposed to avoid him? Should he try to find him? Should he try to keep him away from him somehow? And if that was the case, how the hell was he supposed to do  _any_ of that?

He didn't know a single thing about him and the way that he had simply  _vanished_ into thin air like that…that was not human.

What the hell was he?

If he wasn't human, then what could he be?

Yugi chewed his cheek and shook his head again to try to attempt calming himself some. But he had grown up with a grandpa who had always insisted that magic was real, that some people knew how to use it, that he had once done so himself. He had heard tales of kitsune and demons. He had heard of monsters and legends about a place called the Shadow Realm and punishments dealt through trials called Shadow Games. His grandpa had insisted all his life that the Millennium Puzzle he had sitting on his desk at the house was part of the Shadow Games and possessed terrible magic. He had been told that the inscriptions on the side of the box said that the one who could put it together gained the power and knowledge of the darkness itself.

What that meant, Yugi had no idea and he really did not think he would ever get a chance to figure out. He was not even sure he wanted to attempt it in the first place. There was no actual assurance that he wouldn't hurt himself if he did somehow figure out what that meant. And it was even worse knowing the stories that his grandpa had told him upon watching him struggle with the Puzzle for half of his life. Eight years had been spent attempting to put together a golden artifact that held his attention and refused to release it.

All the archaeologists on the dig to find the artifact had died but his grandpa and a family friend. Mysterious deaths. Some of them had sudden heart attacks, others aneurysms where they had been nothing before. Some of them had developed stage three lung cancer suddenly. Another's organs had all ruptured in the middle of the night all at once, right in front of his eighteen-year-old daughter.

Several of them had carved themselves open to remove their own organs.

Yugi was still amazed that his grandpa and Arthur Hawkins were still alive and well. Half the time Yugi expected to wake up and find the old man carving his face open with a knife or something. Every day he had grown more and more worried that something as morbid as the others' deaths would happen before his eyes. Especially when he had managed to finish the Puzzle three days ago. Right as his grandpa left for Egypt yet again.

He stepped forward and alarms went off in his head immediately, heart rocketing so suddenly that he jumped. Yugi jerked backwards but the arm caught him around the throat with enough force to slam him into the wall harshly. The small teen didn't have time to think of a way to counteract such a lightning fast maneuver. He flinched and tried to prepare himself for the strikes he knew were soon to come. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly as his textbooks collided with the brick and the edges pressed into his back. The thin material of his backpack scraped against the stone loudly enough to make him cringe. The zippers shook and jangled loudly and his head rang as his heart lurched and leaped into his throat.

Fuck, what had he just walked into?

He waited a long minute with his eyes still completely shut, stiff as a board in preparation for the blow that would surely come. Every muscle in his body was prepared for impact. And yet nothing happened. Another minute passed. The arm remained braced against his throat and pressed against his skin but it was completely relaxed in its grip. And Yugi swore he could feel amusement tickling at his insides beautifully now.

"Oh, well, hello," he commented without bothering to open his eyes. His stiffened back relaxed into a soft slouch where it was possible in his position. He reached up to pull his arm away, relief coursing through him. When he finally opened his eyes, the other had his gaze narrowed into slits. His head was tilted slightly to the side, and his expression was slightly disappointed. "What? Were you expecting something else?"

"A little fear would have been appreciated," he snorted dismissively before looking him over slowly and smirking widely as he leaned a little closer to the other boy. His breath fanned out in the air just between their faces, threatening to touch his lips if he only moved closer. "You still seem pretty surprised to see me."

"Well, you did kind of disappear out of nowhere," Yugi murmured. He offered a small friendly smile and blinked at the slightly annoyed look that crossed his face. He had sought him out again and yet he looked so unhappy and frustrated with him. The smaller teen blinked at him, some small part of him hating the other boy's behavior. He had never been used to the idea of others not liking him—at least not so openly anyways. He knew that several kids in his class like Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor and Seto Kaiba and Kokurano disliked him but even Kaiba had not made such a clear show of disgust before. He merely turned his nose up and refused to associate his time with him but past that he was simply ignoring him. The boy in front of him however had the very open expression of wanting to maim him.

His arm moved away, nails sliding against the wall until his hand rested around his throat and forced him back into it. His head collided with the brick in a strangely soft impact, not at all what he had been expecting. The other boy glared at him in annoyance, narrowing his eyes into slits. Yugi blinked against the uncomfortable sensation of his books pushed so violently into his spine and shoulders.

"You are a truly annoying little bastard," the other boy snarled softly. His voice dipped lower and scratched at his insides as his eyes glowed and burned into his skin. Yugi's nerves tingled and begged for something he had no idea how to name. "Stop thinking so goddamned much."

The smaller teen blinked again, then burst out laughing before he reached up to grab his wrist and pull his hand away. The hand around his neck was snatched away suddenly before he could even get within an inch of touching the cooled skin. Yugi almost thought it might have been because the other was afraid of being burned. He felt feverish and it had to show on his face.

"I don't think you get any kind of say in that," he snorted softly, still snickering as he raised a brow. The other boy's jaw clenched as he stared at him. "That seems like a lot to ask, don't you think?"

"I think you could probably do yourself a favor and shut the fuck up already."

"And I think you should do yourself a favor and maybe leave me alone."

The other teen gave him look that said he wanted nothing more in the world. Yugi felt something crumble inside of him for a split second while the other let out a disgusted huff of annoyance. "I can't."

"And here I thought it would be that easy."

"Your voice irks me. Shut up."

"Ooh, irksome," Yugi snorted, laughing at the murderous glare he was given and the way his jaw clenched so violently that he could see the muscles bunching beneath his skin. The movement made his adrenaline spike. His mind raced for a split second and excitement slammed through him. For a moment the world spun in front of him, dizzy with the emotion, and then straightened again. He had no idea where exactly he got this confidence to mess with the other teen, to push him like this, but it was there and he was using it. The other boy could probably squash him like a bug if he wanted, but something made him feel secure enough to attempt it as it was and he wasn't about to question or doubt it. His resolve would crack and break before he could even bring it to its fullest. "Now that's a word I haven't heard in a while."

"Then you have stupid people around you."

"Hmm…that's a matter of opinion more than it is fact."

The other boy scoffed and stepped forward once to press his palms against the brick on either side of the smaller teen's head. He was close enough that his face was only a couple of inches away from his. And Yugi was ashamed to admit the effect that had on him. "You do not exhibit fear of me. I think that makes you a very fucking _stupid_ child."

"The name is Yugi," he quipped, stepping forward slightly, not the least bit surprised when he didn't move and their foreheads touched. The other teen narrowed his eyes into slits of red once more and Yugi fought off a shiver. His skin was nipped with cold air that seemed so much more enhanced by the chilled atmosphere around them, the way that this winter brought with it the promise of snow. He wasn't sure what he had really expected; maybe he thought the frost that came with the mingling of his breath would be black or something. He guessed a part of him had hoped it would be as dark and bottomless as those strange, distorted pupils he was staring into, but it was just as white as his. It was both oddly frustrating and satisfying to see. Maybe it was something small enough that he could make it out of this situation unscathed for he most part. He was pretty sure by the end of it, his psyche was going to suffer. How badly was a question, but he didn't focus on it. The fact remained that he doubted any physical harm would come his way with this interaction.

"I do not recall asking for it. If I were to give a single fuck, I am sure I would have.”

"Hmm, someone doesn't really have manners."

His palm pressed more firmly against his throat and his fingers folded, squeezing once. Yugi blinked and burst out laughing at the unique blend of pain and satisfaction that came with the action. It didn't hurt like he had thought it should have, the squeeze of his fingers around his neck almost pleasurable. It was barely even a tightening of his hand thought the sting of his fingernails in his skin was enough to send some kind of pleasurable ache through his system.

The other boy narrowed his eyes further and glared at him for a moment before finally shaking his head and releasing him. Yugi waited for him to step away again, spending a moment trying to figure out what was going on before realizing he had no plans to. The other merely stood before him, staring at him with sharp burning irises. "Nor do I have morals,  _Yugi_ ," he sneered, tilting his head fractionally. "So perhaps it might be wise of you to think the situation through. And not so fucking _loudly_."

"Not my fault you've stuck your nose in business that doesn't concern you. Butt out of my head then if it bothers you so much," he snapped. A smirk crossed his lips as the teen pulled his lips back to show off his teeth again. His breath was sharp and rattled in the air between them viciously as he slowly shook his head. "No? Well why not? You have no business being there in the first place so why don't you just take yourself out of—"

The hand squeezed until his windpipe closed enough to make him claw at his hand, surprised by the audacity that the other fucker had when he sneered with a large smirk across his lips. Yugi breathed hard when he was released again immediately after, eyes wide as he stared at him in alarm and curiosity. He wasn't entirely sure but he had a feeling, a thought in the back of his mind, that the other boy was actually trying to hurt him.

Yugi thought maybe he was just trying to assert some kind of dominance and gain some ground in the situation. The soothing flickers of warmth that had passed through the front of his mind when he had begun squeezing his throat reinforced the idea. The thought was just calming enough that Yugi found himself feeling slightly relieved. He doubted that the idea held too much merit, that it would hardly keep him alive if the other boy really wanted him dead, but he knew that he wouldn't hurt him. At least not physically—or maybe just not at that moment—though he certainly could. Something was holding him back and while he didn't have the slightest idea as to what it was, he was curious to seek it out.

He blinked again, breathing in a small soft gasp of an inhale that made the other boy snort and roll his beautiful red eyes of blood and liquid ruby. The irises almost seemed to shift and glow despite the little lighting that they had from the streetlamp several feet off on another corner diagonal of them. "Get over yourself, you little brat. I did not even squeeze that hard."

"You shouldn't have squeezed at all," Yugi pointed out, feeling a small lick of confusion on his insides. It dazed him for a moment before anger began to seep in, the smaller boy blinking before shaking his head. "You are  _not_ supposed to go around choking people."

"You were annoying me," the other scoffed nastily, rolling his eyes and glaring at him. "It was either that or break your neck."

Yugi narrowed his eyes, battling away the urge to shiver as he finally came to recognize the eerie calm that had settled in his gaze. Small licks of pure amusement flickered against his subconscious like embers fanning away from blazing flames. And he recognized them as they stared at each other. The taller boy smirked at the way his frustration grew and fell so constantly, but he was perfectly aware that the serenity that had lapped at his skin had not been his.

He was brutally aware that the amusement was not his either, that the frustration he felt was spiking in his body like blood pressure on a monitor, and that the boy was getting a kick out of it. The amusement grew tenfold suddenly, warming his mind and enveloping him for a split second as it swept through him like some kind of strange draft where the air should have been cold. It was like the aura at the arcade and it cloaked the area around them. It lapped at the space between them like open flames and ate away at his body warmth to leave him shivering in confusion and growing alarm.

"So you just go around breaking people's necks when they annoy you?"

"Depends. No one has ever been stupid enough to annoy me before."

"Yeah, okay," Yugi snorted, rolling his eyes and shaking his head with a small smirk. He had to admit he was a little surprised by the way that the other teen narrowed his eyes faintly but failed to pull his forehead away from his. Their skin brushed almost painfully with the friction he created with the simple movement. For a moment he went to argue and then found himself stopping short, staring at him blankly for a long minute.

"What? No more argument?" the red-eyed teen snarled softly, looking affronted by the idea, the sharp exotic-looking orbs growing slightly wide as if confused and alarmed. What had he expected exactly? For him to fall into some kind of full-blown war mode? "I am truthfully a little bit disappointed. I expected more."

"Didn't you say that already about me in general?"

The other boy hesitated for a single moment, as if he had to think it over or find a new path to tread, eager to snap at him but considering the statement that lay on his tongue. "I said I expected more."

"But isn't that the same thing?" Yugi pressed, more than a little bewildered by the conflict that suddenly hit his insides like ice water. His gut churned, his stomach twisting as his heart skipped and stuttered, lungs constricting for a split second. A wave of dizzying anxiety rushed over him for a split second, threatening to knock him to his knees if the other boy hadn't been there. It calmed in an agonizingly slow minute, lingering in the edges of his mind but not coming forth again.

Unconsciously he found his fingers working at some kind of fabric, something scratchy but soft at the same time. His mind took a minute to fully alert him to the fact that he was holding the other boy's shirt. And then he belatedly took in the fact that the other boy was wearing clothes. Yugi really wasn't sure what he had been expecting when he knew for a fact that his clothes had been the only reason he had noticed him. The sound of rustled clothing had been the only thing to alert him to the other boy's presence at the arcade. He had heard his pants or shorts or whatever when he had moved closer to him, when he had played his game.

"Isn't expecting  _more_ of something the same as being disappointed in the original thing?"

He stayed quiet again, taking a long moment, judging and weighing, intelligence like the sharpest knife's blade lingering in his keen eyes, sharp chips of blood and cruelty. "I think expecting more of something gives it the potential to become more," he finally murmured, growling the statement out softly as if the other teen might not hear his words and grasp them if his tone wasn't dangerous. "But that doesn't change anything. You are all baby fat and soft curves."

"I'm sixteen. I'm not supposed to be all sharp lines and chiseled features and muscle and sweat," Yugi quipped, though he kind of wondered now as he stared into those deep red eyes. Joey and Kaiba and even Tristan were just as mature-looking as the boy in front of him. A sharp lash of annoyance cut through his insides and he searched the other boy's face when he couldn't find a reason to have felt that way. Those gleaming jewel-like eyes were flashing and darkening. His jaw clenched and his breath came out in a soft, low keen growl that made the smaller boy's spine tense in alarm. "I don't know what exactly you expected. I don't even know how you know me, but—"

"Think about that statement for a moment," he hissed, voice coming out and seeming to warp the air for a moment. It tightened in the space between, around the smaller teen, squeezing like a python getting ready for its next meal. "It is not a difficult question. In fact, it is not even truly a question at all."

He gave him as best a confused look as he could manage around the swirl of frustration that spiked and lingered beneath his skin. It came off the other teen in vibrant bites and flames almost as if his teeth were sinking into his flesh and contaminating his blood.

Yugi shook his head after a moment, completely unable to come up with a statement to argue with what the other teen had just said. He blinked once and watched him close his eyes for a second before a yelp escaped his lips as his skull collided harshly with the brick. Their teeth clicked harshly, sharp noises that echoed in the still air around them.

His mouth felt awkward in the new position, his body uncoordinated with the strange sensation of detachment that came through his mind in splintering waves of lightning and sparks of wildfire. It passed through him in ragged lines of sharp tension and vibrant need for something that he had no understanding of.

Hands struggled with the straps that weighed down his shoulders, forcing them down and away in a movement that caused pain to shoot through his bones. The other teen let out a snarl almost as if he too felt it and was frustrated with the ache lingering beneath his skin. He pulled away just enough so that he could face the strap that was bothering him the most.

Nails scraped through Yugi's jacket and undershirt and clawed his skin in four long lines. He winced, swearing somewhere in the back of his mind that he could feel blood seeping out of his split skin, but the other teen ignored him pointedly. His harsh breath beat against his lips, a snarl tracing the tail end of the exhale and the smaller teen watched him as he fumbled once and then tore the strap away. He listened to the light sound of material ripping where the bag ground against the wall but didn't bother to try telling him to stop. Instead he moved to slip his shoulder out from under the second strap to drop the bag behind him.

A hiss escaped his mouth without his awareness at the sharp sting of pain that came when his shoulder blades collided with the wall. He stumbled when his shoe caught on the smooth material and he nearly slipped. His entire body staggered and nearly fell down the wall, but a hand caught the collar of his shirt, tight and restraining, holding him in place and refusing to let go.

Yugi wasn't sure why he didn't push him away or fight him off. Frustration poured into his system though he could hardly understand whether it was his or the other boy's. He would not have been surprised if it was shared between them at this point. Maybe it was stronger on the boy's behalf but it was there inside of him as well. It burned and festered and left him somewhat dazed but, by the gods, he loved it so much as well…

 _Open your legs_ …

Yugi fought off a confused panic creeping up from his belly with claws like vices. The command rattled in the back of his head and his stomach twisted violently until he thought he would vomit. A keen desire raced through his mind and lit his blood on fire at the same time and the small teen finally forced his legs apart. The other teen made no move and Yugi stared at him, confused. He breathed in sharply when the hand that held the material of his shirt released him and moved away to grab his chin and tip his head up somewhat, the other sneaking downwards. What the hell was he doing?

The metal teeth slid beneath the zipper as it glided over, slowly starting to part, and the smaller teen froze for a second. Slowly, unsteadily, he forced a noise that he hoped, heart pounding and shaking in his chest, was something equivalent the growl that the other had shot at him earlier. His answer was the teen pulling away immediately just enough to lock eyes with him. The red eyes burned into his with a challenging authority that made him want to snarl in frustration. He was not the boss of him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

The word tasted funny in his mouth because Yugi had never truly been one for curse words. Most of the time he abhorred them though he heard them almost every day at school and it felt disgusting to have it come off his own tongue.

"Would you relax some, moron?" he snapped around the chomping of his teeth. The enamel clicked sharply enough that Yugi had to struggle to push away the instinctive flinch that threatened to take over. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done so already."

"I'll scream," the smaller spat, bristling as the hand moved to cup him and the other palm opened to lay flat over his neck, to push him back some and pin him more securely. Yugi couldn't figure out why he wasn't using his arms yet to shove him away. He still had no idea how to even attempt pushing him away or trying to kick him…

"You really think you'll get your voice out before I crush your throat in?" he laughed, a purr biting at the edges of his words before a snort escaped him, wholly amused. "I am much stronger than you. I am by far faster than you. You open that pretty little mouth of yours and raise that high-pitched voice of yours, and you are dead. Understand?"

Yugi ground his teeth together. Did he test it or let him do as he wished? Did he fight back and run? Did he wait it out, see what he was going to do? He was far from sure about the idea of trying his hand at fighting this other boy. He was more or less sure that he would lose.

He had height and he thought maybe weight too, but he looked skinnier than he should have. Yugi thought vaguely of malnourishment, and wondered if that could be the single advantage he had. But there was also the fact that he could probably hear him if he really could listen in on his thoughts as he had said. And he knew for a fact, without even having to think about it, that he was far faster, something that Yugi wasn't the least bit afraid to admit.

His jaw was starting to ache, straining with the force of his teeth gnashed together. Risk his life on the idea that he might be able to get away with a scream or just let the boy do as he wanted? He didn't think it was much of a question if he was trying to survive and needed to do that more than anything else. But that wasn't the instinct at the forefront of his fractured mind.

No, his instinct was to lash out and test, to drive at the other boy until he finally snapped. His instinct screamed for some kind of release between them, dangerous and desperate and overwhelmingly powerful. Maybe it was sexual, maybe it was a fight, maybe a spat, but either way, it was demanding and consumed every bit of rational thought he possessed. His instinct said to claw, to draw blood and make the other boy fight with him. It said to make him feel something that was far from normal and wasn't so completely easy to push away without a second thought.

"You really think you're going to kill me?" he asked after a moment, searching his face, his eyes. He shivered uncomfortably when he found only bitter resentment and a hatred that he didn't understand. He didn't know who it was targeted towards, him or himself, but it was there and it made his eyes dark and wild.

It felt like staring into boiling springs of deep red lava, pools of freshly spilled blood. It made him dangerous, like a snake coiled and ready to strike. It made the cold aura that surrounded him that much heavier, thicker. It bore down on him until he felt his lungs were no longer working and he couldn't breathe. The cold mist that lingered in the back of his mind solidified as it had the moment he had begun to approach him at the arcade.

Yugi felt his heart kick into high gear, racing fast enough that he thought it was in his throat, beating hard enough to choke him. Fear crept through him at the thought of his sight becoming inverted again, long lines of white like jagged forks of electricity and distorted shades too dark for his liking. The edges of his vision swirled with tints of black and dark blue, lingering gray and misty white…

For a moment the other teen considered his words, the thoughts seemingly turning behind his gleaming eyes, and then he came at him aggressively. Yugi let out a startled yelp that the other devoured easily. A hand wrapped around him and pumped once in a languid movement that made the smaller boy think that maybe he was measuring him rather than attempting to bring him any form of pleasure.

His head spun with distinct uncertainty when his tongue was thrust forcefully into his mouth, the dangerous lingering taste of moonlight bleeding through dense clouds to touch the ground on a cold night, winter and darkness and stars and sky and an endless abyss of risk and fire and exhilaration. His head swam, his heart lurching and jumping into his throat once more. The taste of blood seeped into his mouth around the flavor of the other boy's tongue. His lungs twisted and burned, and then something inside of him snapped.

Violently.

It felt like a dam had broken to pieces inside of his mind. The barrier that had prevented him from reaching the other boy vanished in a splintering pain with a noise akin to glass breaking and glistening, hitting the ground and cutting his skin. He swore his heart took a shard through it, got clipped. It bled into the space between them as desperation and fear and shattered reality, splinters of horror and pain and darkness swept through him. First his mind and then his being and then it burned. Something sizzled beneath his skin and ate at his conscious, seared through his being and left him wanting to scream.

A strangled noise left one of them, though Yugi was unsure which of them had made it, if it was him or the other boy. But he hardly cared now as his mind started to splinter off into different directions. It hurt but it was so solely satisfying all at once, the way his mind twisted and writhed with the familiarity of something that he had never experienced before. It felt like something was tearing him open and shoving his distorted insides out. It clawed and ripped and shredded and yet it didn't hurt. It was pleasurable to the core where he could feel himself bleeding into the other boy…

Vaguely he recognized the action of his hips moving, thrusting maybe. He knew that the grip around him had tightened, that he was being forced further against the wall, to the point that his spine was arched and curved. His mind scrambled for knowledge of what to do other than breathe roughly, raggedly, moaning and panting into the other boy's greedy mouth. Fucking hell…

The other boy chuckled softly, the noise making his tongue vibrate and sending another wave of euphoria through him before he pulled away suddenly. His face pressed into his shoulder, tantalizingly warm where his cheek softly brushed his neck. Yugi impulsively reached out to grasp at his shoulders with fingers that dug into his flesh, trying desperately to reach the bone. He moaned loudly and swallowed back something akin a strangled scream, a noise he didn't know how to release or make.

 _Intense, isn't it_? the other boy's voice snarled in his mind, burning words with edges like jagged knives and broken glass, reminiscence of the experience that had come over him only moments before.  _And you thought I would hurt you_ …

His fingers tightened impossibly, curving and digging harder, sinking into muscle and sinew. His nails dragged at broken flesh and made the other boy growl into his ear, a dull low noise around the pounding of his heart and the seemingly synchronized beat that came with the other's.

The boy pulled away after a long moment and Yugi whined loudly enough that it made them both cringe. His mind scrambled, unsure of what to do, disconnected and trying to find some kind of way to mend the break as the bother boy stared at him with dilated, confused, detached eyes that were too wide and large. His own gaze caught the red, held it in place, took in the way that pupils had contracted to pinpricks. They grew into tiny little black dots among a sea of blood and exotic gems, chips of crimson ice and danger.

Yugi blinked and he mimicked him after a long second before lunging again. For once in his life, the smaller teen couldn't tell where he—his desires, his emotions, his mind, everything that made him  _himself_ —ended and the other boy began. It was as if they held a disjointed connection that had formed between them and grown too strong in too short a time. The boy felt like an extension of his own body, joined in different places, _awkward_ places, in clumsy yet powerful ways, hungry and desperate and only partially restrained by something that neither could name.

He moaned loudly, desperation and frustration surging through him as he bucked his hips, seeking any kind of friction he could possibly find. His mind felt strained, dazed. The hand that had been holding him moved to slip his pants and boxers down before shoving him slightly. A vague idea crossed his mind that the other wanted him to become a part of the wall, a permanent attachment of flesh and blood and brick.

He thrust harder and the boy snarled into his mouth, laughter gradually bubbling up beneath it as he pulled away and purred, "Eager much, little game?" before moving his lips to Yugi's face, his cheek, trailing down the side of his jaw. The smaller teen gasped and writhed, whining and trying to find something to work with where the boy seemed ready to stop. He stretched his hands out and wrapped an arm around his neck, clawing at his back as his body went through a tremor and a whimper of desperation escaped him.

His teeth scraped and tore at his jaw and the smaller teen yelped in violent pain. The contact and the force behind it, the way his canines pressed so far into his skin, left his head reeling. He pulled back just enough to smirk as Yugi breathed hard and stared at him with a shocked expression. The look in his eyes, the smug pride and satisfaction, a gleam of cruelty and feral instinct, made him question if maybe the intent behind that bite had been to crush his jawbone.

The thought made his heart pound but he wasn't sure if it was with excitement or terror and his mind supplied him nothing to identify the difference between the two. The adrenaline pumped through him, furthering the disconnection dangerously. His head swam, his stomach twisted, and Yugi struggled to find some kind of ground to stand on.

He breathed hard, realizing belatedly that something was missing. He stared at the other teen and then dragged his eyes away to the ground. He took a moment to realize belatedly why he no longer felt those heated coils in his stomach anymore, the bunched up muscle that had come with his hand.

" _Shit_."

"Still want to scream? I can make it happen."

Yugi blinked and looked at him for a moment. The remnants of pleasure and adrenaline were fading slowly as he breathed hard and struggled to get a grasp on what was going on. The red-eyed teen had just given him an orgasm…in an alleyway…with his hand…

A small backwards train of thought said that he should be embarrassed but he could only feel a wild amusement overcoming the rest of his emotions. He turned his head and looked at the other boy with a smug expression before moving to pull his pants up again. The other teen's eyes flickered to his clothes and back so quickly that Yugi almost missed it in his peripheral. He watched the red gaze narrow into slits as he took in his current state. The smaller teen didn't know what he had expected, but now that he looked at the other, he recognized in that pissed off expression that he had not gotten it. And some small part of him rejoiced at the thought. He didn't want to give him something that he wanted. At least not before he found some kind of ground between them to work with.

The boy worked with distraction, manipulation. He had pushed at his mind until it bled and left him completely unable to argue. But he had also cut himself in the chaos of it all. His blood had mixed with his and it was clear that the boy had not wanted that. Not completely anyways. He had probably wanted more control over Yugi's thoughts, wanted to be freer to toss through them and abuse and manipulate them, but he'd opened up something he had no idea how to control.

And now, the emotions inside of him lashed out like one massive caged animal because he had no idea what to do. He had tried to weaken him to the point that he could creep into his mind and shuffle through without being caught and he'd managed to trap himself in it. He didn't have a way of escape now.

Yugi smirked at the irritation that crossed through his system with the idea. The other boy was growing angry, bitter, and looked ready to attack him, but he had not moved. It was only his tensed muscles and the way that his breathing had grown ragged and bordered on a snarl that gave him warning and told his curiosity of caution.

"Disappointed again? I mean, it has to be hard running into so much lately," he teased, his mind trying to find something to grasp at to reign in some of his confusion and slow-coming alarm.

He was not sure exactly what he was doing but he would have been lying if he said he didn't like the power that had been placed so precariously in his hands. It was addictive and strange and so beautifully foreign, and it was only made more pronounced with the gleam of hatred in the other boy's eyes. He could have come up with the idea as to why he was so terribly elated. It could have been the many times he had not gotten much of a challenge during games with opponents and smothered the idea of bragging. It could have been just another aspect of his personality he was growing into. But he was almost certain it was the boy's frustration that made him feel such an intense high at the thought of holding power like this.

"You blame everything on me, hmm?" he hissed, narrowing his eyes into slits and tilting his head, gaze flashing dangerously. Yugi blinked and fought off a shudder; he had never seen something so reflective before in his life. The way his eyes suddenly seemed so much like glass made his breath hitch. He swore in the back of his mind that he could see his own emotions reflected towards him. There was confusion and a hint of lust, tiny specks of surprise and guilt but mostly just smug awareness. There was the humor in his gaze that didn't really hold merit in the heat of such a situation. His face stared back at him, in the center of those dark red orbs. Irises burned around contracted pupils and blazed into his. Yugi's spine begged to release some of the stored tension there in the form of a tremor. "You're not nearly as nice a person as you think you are. If you were, how would I be here?"

Yugi stared at him for a moment and then shook his head slowly, furrowing his brows at the comment. "What?" he finally breathed out, confusion and annoyance finding its way into his voice. "I have nothing to do with you being here."

"You brought me here," he spat, curling his lips back and baring his teeth as he moved their faces within inches of each other. "You did this. The blood on my hands is shared equally on yours. You think yourself a good person? No, you are just as disgusting as the rest. Greedy and ambitious and just as jaded as I am."

"What the hell does that mean? I don't even know you." He blinked at the statement. A small flux of confusion and then vibrant pain surged through him. His chest felt suddenly as if it were caving in. He went to snap at him not to influence him, but then he locked eyes with the other boy. The light in those stunning red eyes was of pure laughter and Yugi found himself drowning with the realization that it was all him. These emotions were all his and the other boy had not influenced them in any way. "What are you laughing at?"

"You. How naïve and slow and pathetic you are."

"Cute. So you're lashing out because you didn't get your way. And you think you're above me? Right. Think again."

"Oh no, do not mistake yourself,  _Yugi_. I am well aware that I am not above you. But I am not beneath you either. Hell, I am not even level with you yet." His lips pulled up into a wide smirk, moving to show off his sharp canines and dangerous teeth, the same mouth that had threatened to crush his jawbone only moments before. "Ah, yes, see, now you are beginning to understand it."

"Fine, if you want to do something, then do it. Hurt me. Lash out. Punch and kick and tear into me until I bleed," Yugi stated calmly, stepping forward and finding himself nearly drowning with sudden pleasure as he breathed in the other boy's exhale. " _Make me bleed_."

The other boy blinked slowly and narrowed his eyes further. His gaze grew to a mere sliver of red among black lashes and dark shadows and pupils that seemed to absorb the vast darkness cast upon them. Yugi watched them grow large and full once more, completely distorted like stars in the sky. The smaller teen stared at him, waiting, but the other failed to move. He still stood close enough that they were sharing mingled breaths. He could feel him studying him, taking notes as if he was attempting to find some kind of answer. It was like maybe he assumed biding his time would give him what he sought from this encounter, this argument.

"Are you scared?" the smaller boy asked quietly, moving to cross his arms. He froze in place when the other teen bared his teeth as if he expected him to lash out. Something kept him from doing so himself but he expected Yugi to. The smaller teen's head spun for a moment, dizzy and tilting on its axis. He struggled to find the answers to so many questions that were suddenly buzzing in his head. The hatred that had settled in his veins, that was tearing at his insides and making him so angry, was not his. It belonged completely to the boy, and yet he did not seem even slightly inclined towards attacking him.

He remained completely frozen before him. Yugi had a small split second of fear that he was not even breathing anymore. The hatred curled and spread and warmed his blood to the point that he thought it was boiling in his veins. It took center in his mind and darkened his thoughts enough to make him want to scream. But he held himself as still as the other boy, studying like the red gaze did with him. He tried to find something that could possibly make the other boy's actions logical to him. The boy searched for something he had no idea the identity of. All he was doing was spreading that emotion through him now, however. He was attempting to manipulate and bite and leave him suddenly furious.

"What the hell is holding you back?" he finally snarled, clenching his jaw. "Go ahead and attack me. I won't fight back. I'm not going to hurt you. Do it. Do  _something_. Carve your way through my skin if you want to. Just do something besides stand there and stare at me."

The hatred sparked and sizzled and then gave way to surprise for a single split second before it settled into the pit of his stomach, the back of his mind, coiling tightly like a snake preparing to strike. He remained still, watching the way that the other boy stared at him in response and refused to speak, and both of them glared at each other.

"What do you want with me? I don't have anything you could possibly need. And it's not like I am  _inclined_ to give you anything anyways. You fucking licked my face and pretty much sexually assaulted me."

"Did you argue? Did you breathe a word of argument? No."

Yugi opened his mouth to snap at him that he had but then backpedaled immediately. This fight would get him nowhere, no matter the amount of power he put into it in retaliation. The boy seemed prepared to deal with anything he threw at him. He seemed to enjoy the aspect of argument over conversation. And the smaller teen was starting to recognize something in those cruel bloodied eyes.

He liked the arguments because that  _was_ conversation for him. He liked the manipulation because it felt  _real_ for him. He had fun digging into his emotions because they became  _his_ to play with. He enjoyed his anger because it justified his hatred. And he was not lashing out because to him Yugi was not a threat.

Now that was something that he knew to worry about. It was questionable whether it would be a good thing or not that he failed to see him as a threat. He had no idea if it was a blessing or a curse. If he was to push too far, it would be all too easy for the other boy to tear his throat out. He had the strength. He had the speed. It was no question of if he would do it if he truly wanted. The boy in front of him would not hesitate at all. If he wasn't thought a threat to the other boy, there was hardly anything he could do to keep the boy from doing something to him.

Yet, still here, even in this moment, he was not doing anything.

He had the perfect opportunity. He had already said he wouldn't fight him. And this boy was not stupid. He knew that Yugi meant the statement. He would not touch him if he lashed out physically. He would trade blows with him verbally, mentally, but not physically. He couldn't stand the idea of bruising the other teen's beautiful skin or drawing his blood.

So why did he hesitate?

Yugi ground his teeth together and his frustration spiked and caused him to tremble for a split second. The red eyes took in the motion with pure amusement but the smaller boy couldn't shake the anger that came with that simple idea. And how was he supposed to fight someone who lived for this kind of thing? If he told him off, he would get a laugh. If he threatened him, he was pretty sure he would get something he didn't want in response. He had no way of knowing how to navigate and this entire situation was one massive time bomb waiting for him to make the wrong move.

"Not a threat?" the other boy laughed cynically before baring his teeth. He stepped close enough that they were nearly touching again, only centimeters of open cold air between them now. "You? _You_ are  _not_ a threat? Are you serious, you stupid boy? You are the  _only_ threat. You have something of mine that I want back. I want it back,  _Yugi_."

"What of yours do I have?" he asked slowly. He fought back some of the anger that clouded his senses, forcing it away in order to be able to stare at him, searching his bleeding eyes. He focused on the task of trying to manipulate himself into confusion, a false sense of calm. "What do I need to give back to make you leave me alone?"

"Leave you alone? Oh no, even if I get it back, there is no 'leaving you alone'. I am stuck with you. You brought me here and now I am stuck with you."

"What the hell do you even  _mean_?" he snapped, shaking his head with a scowl. He furrowed his brows and set his jaw in frustration before blinking hard. He tried to scatter some of the jumbled emotion that was burning in the pit of his stomach. "I didn't bring you here. I don't even know you!"

That twist of confusion and pain spiked through him once more with enough force to shake off any of the other emotions that may have been in the center of his mind. He reached up to feel himself, run his fingers over his clothes. He brushed the digits over his clothing, his skin, staring at the other boy whose face had twisted into a murderous glower. It felt as if someone had just broken and cracked inside of him. It lingered and bled on his damaged insides, and it hurt like an open, festering wound full of infection and leaving him completely lost as to what was going on.

"Of course you do," he sneered, though his voice sounded slightly hollow and lacked some of the menace it should have held. Yugi's eyes flickered towards him, away from his clothes, regarding him in confusion even as he tried to find some kind of wound on his skin. "You know me."

"I don't," he repeated, heart skipping and constricting painfully, nearly breaking like shards of glass. His knees threatened to buckle with the force of the pain that radiated inside of him in that single moment; he didn't know this boy. This _creature_ , whatever he _was_. He didn't, he didn't, he _didn't_. He would have recognized him immediately if he had. And yet the more he tried to think this or speak the words, say that he had no idea who this boy was, the more his heart felt as if it were being incinerated from the inside. The more he bled and his insides screamed as if he were being stabbed. "I…Who  _are_ you?"

The other teen's face grew to slowly harbor a look of eventual shock. His eyes widened in confusion and chaotic splinters of black bled into red in large sharp rivulets of darkness. He suddenly looked completely unsure of himself, as if he didn't know how to answer the question and didn't have a single thing that he could force out of his throat. He looked as if he were experiencing the same pain as Yugi felt, as if his insides were being slowly dissected and bleeding beneath the surface of his skin. The smaller teen recognized the wild and feral look that crossed his face the next second. He recognized the way that his eyes glowed around those strange bleeding pupils. His disappearance at the arcade flashed through his mind for a moment. The look he wore now was the very one that had come across him right before he had disappeared as if he had not existed in the first place.

Yugi opened his mouth to stop him, heart pounding violently and jumping against his ribcage painfully. His mind raced with the task of saying something—anything—that could make him stay. He was scared, suddenly, that if he ran away again, he would never be able to find him, that this would be the last time he ever saw him. It was a fear that settled so deeply inside of him that he nearly buckled under the weight of it. The intensity fractured his mind and left his insides screaming, everything inside of him drowning beneath it. But the teen was gone before he could even fathom the task of forcing words out of his mouth.

He swore he saw shadows creeping along the ground, the walls, eating what little light the bricks had to give from where they harbored rays from the streetlight. But mostly he thought he saw a single small pinprick of bright gold in the center of the boy's forehead before he vanished.

 _Goddamn it_.


	2. Chapter II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh
> 
> Warning: Cursing should be relatively mild but sometimes grows a little more at times, Season 0 Yami...and he's a little more unhinged than usual, so keep that in mind.
> 
> Note: There are mentions of blood, some graphic images of death, sensual moments and feelings, touches of violence/abuse
> 
> Update Schedule: Since I've already completed and posted this story on ff, I am going to try to update it weekly with the edits around updating on ff as well.
> 
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer's block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it would be appreciated. Please and thank you.
> 
> I got a little caught up in the color symbolism of Yugi's room. But you'll find out why later in the story. There is actually a pretty big reason for Yami to pick at the colors and be so keen on taking in every little aspect of Yugi's room like he does.

Chapter II

Yugi screamed. He screamed so loudly that a dog down the street howled loudly, the noise booming as it joined his cry of panicked shock. The dog's hideous baying was joined by the scattered yowl of a frightened cat. The boy straddling him pressed his palms first over his ears, lips pulling back into a snarl that showed each of his sharp teeth and those strange red gums. Yugi stared at them, imagining blood spilling violently from their gleaming tips. He screamed a little louder at the thought, swearing that at one point the glass began to take on fine fractures in the shape of cobwebs, rattling within their frames. Furious, undone by the noise, the taller boy pressed his hands firmly over his mouth. His head was throbbing and his ears ringing, and he yelped as he was shoved violently backwards into the mattress once more. The very force of his hands colliding with his chest knocked the air from his lungs, forcing his voice to silence for a split second.

"Shut up, shut up!  _Shut up_!" he snarled angrily, a small sense of panic coiling inside of him now as well, brought on by the boy beneath him. It curled beneath the notes of his dark baritone voice, sharp and cold, and posed mockingly in his mind like the form of a rattlesnake preparing to strike.

A faint, threatening undertone of feral anxiety began to weigh down the air. Yugi's ears had begun to throb painfully as he sensed it pressing into him. But it only forced him to try harder, the red-eyed boy's voice a sinful curl of noise which dug its way into his thoughts and scattered them away. His adrenaline spiked higher, the sense of fear that overwhelmed him at even the briefest consideration of confrontation. His heart was skipping beats now, his lungs constricting as he struggled for breath.

His panic had begun to merge and mingle further, coloring his mind with a deep and murky flash of dark gray. It was like shadows flickering throughout his thoughts, heavy and dense. They were weighted ghosts, soaked in thick billowing curtains of smoke. Blasts of heat and currents of ice pulsed through him, his blood thickening and then thinning, heart skipping beats faster than ever.

It poked and prodded until he felt that something akin a perfect, sharpened piece of shattered glass were being used to cut within his veins. The sting which came with the sensation was impossible to ignore. His gut felt as if it were being torn open and his scream grew a pitch higher in terror and pain at the sensation.

He trembled so harshly that the movements rocked the boy above him. The jostling made him bristle, eyes widening in surprise, and he shot him an affronted yet anxious, terrified look. His voice dropped, taking on the chill of winter and the point of knife blades as he snarled, "i have not even _done anything_. Yet you continue to scream. Shut the  _fuck up already_! "

Yugi squeezed his eyes shut tightly, unable to stop himself from expelling the fear which choked him. The noise burst against his palms with terrible weight, the dark gray muddled formation of color made his head spin further. He feared his lungs might explode before he could even truly escape from beneath the taller boy.

The adrenaline coursing through his mind struggled to provide an answer. The panic was choking his senses further and the noise was creeping out harder and louder than before. His ears were ringing, throbbing, and his head felt as if it were suffocating. His thoughts were being broken apart and dissected rapidly the more the noise left him in such a heavy, continuous burst. A sheet of ice was forming in the forefront of his mind. Any concept that tried to form deteriorated once more immediately.

"Fucking— _shut up_!"

The statement did nothing to quell his fear. Instead he felt it swell in his blood further. He felt the instinct sweep upon him to lash out as violently as physically possible. He could feel the ice hardening, becoming a heavier burden, drowning him as his control snapped for the smallest second.

He smacked the other teen hard enough to throw him backwards. His voice was quaking, a weak squeak of terror. His throat was burning and his eyes dilated. His head felt fuzzy and cold. He scrambled backwards towards his headboard. The cushion bunched up against the wood behind him. He breathed raggedly, gawking at him.

His own reaction horrified and shocked him.

Before him, head bowed away somewhat, was the tall teen. Blood covered the corners of his mouth. He pressed the back of his hand against the smear which looked oily within the moonbeams. He pulled his hand back, looking at the touch which would appear red in the light. Yugi opened and closed his mouth, unsure of what more to do. The other teen, however, merely brought his head up. The turn of his face towards his held the expression of murder.

"Oh my gods, oh my fuck—? How the  _hell_ —? Who the  _fuck_ climbs into someone's house by dropping through a goddamned skylight and leaping on their bed, you stupid bastard?" he snarled angrily. He was breathing rapidly. His fear was pulsating. He was overwhelmed, quite abruptly. His fear was dissipating too slowly. The effort to refrain from lashing out in terror was draining away. His energy was fluctuating into near nothingness. He had never experienced such exhaustion before.

But it did not stop him from wanting to hit him a second time. He was itching to reach out and smack his palm against his cheek. Because,  _really_ , who in their  _right mind did that kind of thing_? Who just leaped through someone's skylight and attacked them in the middle of the night? He forced the idea away again.

He needed to breathe more than anything else. He shook his head, slightly bewildered. He drew in a deeper breath, then exhaled softly. He felt his stomach clenching. He shook his head again, then moved forward. The blood was still upon his skin and he wondered if it was worse than it appeared at the moment.

He crawled closer. The red eyes snapped towards him. His gaze was sharp, cautious. He looked as if he were the monster in a horror movie and Yugi held the torches and pitchforks. He got within a foot of him before the other boy recoiled as if he might brand him with fire at any moment.

"Relax," he muttered softly. He moved a bit closer once more. The other boy edged away again. He looked to spring to his feet. Yugi reached for his arm. "I just need to check on your face, okay?"

"My  _face_ is fine," he snapped in disdain. He was able to sidestep the first attempt to catch his arm. But the second was unsuccessful. Yugi clenched his hand around the fabric. He attempted to push him away with a single hand. The other remained covering the raw wound upon his face. He lashed out violently. Yugi had to dodge away from his palm. The knowledge was instinctive that he would easily crush his skull with the force of the prepared blow. "Now,  _let me_ go."

"No, just let me see."

"How about you fuck off and let me deal with it instead?"

"You frustrating prick," Yugi spat out. He rolled his eyes in irritation. The red-eyed boy stared at him disdainfully. It was difficult to assess the damage with too little moonlight from the window. With the shadow of his fingers covering the wound, he could see nothing. He reached over to tug on the cord of the lamp. But his other hand was clamped to the boy's arm to keep him in place. The maneuvering was difficult with the distance between the two objects in question.

He was fearful that if he was not touching him he might disappear. And he did not know where he would go. Nor did he wish to have him vanish a third time. Twice in one day was enough for Yugi to witness. He didn't think he would come out as calm and sane after the third time. So he did not allow him any room to take chances. "Now, move your hands so I can see."

"Fuck you, I will not allow you to see it."

Yugi fought back a shiver as the light hit the other boy's dark eyes. They appeared almost to absorb the light exposed upon them rather than reflect. The gleam that should have existed there was nonexistent. His irises and dark pupils were unaffected by the rays of light. Yugi could see red on his fingers, between the slender digits. The rivulets of blood made up long streaks that worked their way down into the pores of his golden-bronze skin.

"It was an accident," he argued softly, his head feeling light at the sight of so much blood. He had caused that, when he had so simply lashed out at him. He had expected maybe bruised flesh, but to have hit him so much harder made his head spin. He had very apparently hit him beyond his own limitation of strength. "But what did you expect to happen? By the gods, you leaped onto my bed from the skylight. You woke me from a  _very_ bad nightmare—which, thank you  _for that_ at least—but you could have  _planned it better_! You were covering my mouth and snarling at me! What did you expect from me? Of course I freaked!"

He was silent. It was apparent in the way he looked about them that he was not listening. He was not even the slightest bit concerned with his words. He was watching the wall without a single glance towards him. A sharp noise as if he was breathing too hard or trying to get rid of blood in his noise made Yugi cringe. Confusion, small and gentle, touched at his senses.

He had been so sure that it was his mouth he had struck. Yet he was holding his nose as well. Was it possible that he had clipped him in both spots? He was not entirely sure of what he could have done at that position. Then he wondered, curiously, if perhaps it was some kind of lucid dream he was experiencing at the moment.

He would not have been surprised in the slightest if he was.

The boy already haunted his nightmares. He butchered his family and friends. He bathed in their blood, his skin swollen and gleaming with it. And he dug into his soul, desperate for secrets he had no right to. He tried to control him from the inside out.

Yugi forced the vivid drifting images of his nightmares away. He was frozen and staring at the other boy. His jaw had always been stretched in a smirk. And his teeth always glinted bright, glorious white. He swallowed and tried to toss the memory aside. And the boy stared at him with darkened red eyes.

The effort to focus on him was nearly exhausting. He frowned and moved closer until neither of them had more than mere inches of personal space. The air between them mingled with the cold rush of the boy's aura and his own body heat. His adrenaline spiked for a split second, long and slow, and he blinked. A dizzying sensation crept through him for a shattered moment, then it began to settle once more.

His temperature was rising once more, reaching a rough and hideous peak at exposure to the red-eyed boy. He sat back on his haunches and reached for his wrists with the hope of pulling his hands away again. But his view of the damage was cut in half by his slender digits. A violent snarl cut into the air, startling him.

A small trill went through him. He froze in place again. He could not tell if it was the close proximity or if it was where his hands were headed. But if it were the former, shouldn't he have snarled sooner? He had poked his way into his personal space sooner than that. It had to have been his direction of reaching for his wrists.

He moved his hands. Now, easily, he caught his elbows. The skin quivered beneath his fingers. His flesh was cold, wintry, but heated rapidly at the contact. Furious, the other boy glared at him. A menacing glint filled his dark eyes, but he did not oppose him. No verbal argument left his lips. And he did not tug out of his grip. Both of them were well aware of how easily he could do so.

The smaller teen grinned at him, small and slight. Some laughter made his lungs heat. But he fell immediately silent again. The tall teen scowled at him, infuriated. For a moment they stared at one another. Then Yugi glanced at him, feeling small and confused. The lack of fear inside of him made his stomach twist. He tugged but the other did not so much as blink. His body was completely resistant to the movement.

"Oh my god. Did you super glue your fingers to your face or something?" he huffed softly. He was frustrated as he narrowed his eyes into slits. The idea made a small twinge of amusement and satisfaction cross upon his insides. He pictured it perfectly in his head. He felt a small sense of amusement curl further and grow more abundant. He wondered vaguely if his skin would come off. Super glue was such a bitch to remove. If he had somehow managed to do that, Yugi honestly did not know that he would ever stop laughing. It was probably impossible when it came down to it, however. He doubted the other boy could even  _get_ super glue in the first place. He found it hilarious, that it was pretty funny to think about. "Come on, move your hands."

"Fuck you. Let go of me."

Yugi rolled his eyes and shook his head. He reached out again to lay his palms over the back of the other's hands. A small bit of surprise surged through him when he found just how much larger his seemed. But he did not comment on the leaner build, the longer fingers that opposed to his own shorter, somewhat chubbier looking ones. He moved his fingers to lace them between the other boy's, pale against golden skin tone. He curled his fingers, sinking his blunt nails into the other's soft flesh.

The snarl that left him was both anger and the smallest sense confusion. He almost thought it underlined with hurt as well. But mostly he could only sense that touch of agitation. He tugged again but the other boy refused to give way once more. For a long minute his efforts were completely fruitless. Then, with an exasperated snarl, the other boy spat out, "Fine,  _fine_ , you wish to see it?"

He shoved him away violently. The smaller boy nearly toppled over. If he had not still held his fingers over the other's, he would have fallen. He flinched at the sight of the bruised flesh of his nose. The blood that made its way down his split lip made both wounds look swollen. His chin was nearly covered in crimson.

"Oh…"

"'Oh…'" he sneered in disgust. His voice was pitched higher, so that now his voice matched the smaller boy's perfectly. It was harmonious, the way it curled upwards in that disgusting lilt of laughter. Yugi was frozen in place, stunned by the response. Alarm dripped down his spine and his back felt rigid and cold. He gaped at him, then tossed his head back and forth with wide eyes.

The taller boy jerked backwards abruptly. The reaction made Yugi nearly fall out of the bed. His eyes flashed, widening drastically for a moment. The snarl that came to him was low and forewarning. He struggled to pull his hands away. He shook his wrists out. He chomped his teeth. The low, guttural noise finally began to dissipate in the still air.

He studied him, confused as he struggled blankly to figure out why it was he was reacting this way. It was almost as if something was touching him and pulling at him. It felt like something was pinning him, trying to hold him down forcefully. Yugi could not tell if he was going to bolt at any second or not. But he still pulled his hands away immediately after the thought occurred to him that he was still holding them.

The other teen lashed out suddenly enough that the smaller teen had no chance of escape. And for a moment a thought crossed his mind that he was going to run those long nails along his throat. He pictured blood, copious amounts of red that soaked the sheets and coated the carpet. In the split second it took for to feel the other boy's hand, he swore he saw his life flashing in front of his eyes. Panic as intense as flames flickered through him and he fell backwards into the bed with a soft grunt. His body felt like lead and he swore he could feel blood. He swore his skin had been serrated, and his panic grew tenfold.

For the briefest of moments he felt as though every vein in his body was beginning to pop and explode beneath his skin. Every bone had pinpricks of pain and felt as if they were twisting. His blood boiled and his mind scrambled for anything to help steady him. His lungs refused to work for a moment, feeling as if someone had just thrown him underwater. He could feel the sheets growing soaked with his blood, becoming soiled and weighing the mattress beneath him.

It was slow and dragging out inside of him, his mind seemingly flailing, incoherent and babbling something that sounded like his blood bubbling with his breath. He swore he could feel the tendons in his throat, flexing and drowning. His heart skipped and jolted, struggling, and his bones felt as if they were breaking again.

And then he heard a snicker, so soft it was nearly inaudible. He wasn't entirely sure how he recognized the noise in the disconnected state he was slipping into. But it drifted through his ears and left him biting off a groan.

The bed was merely warm. It was not the least bit wet. And he could not feel any pain anywhere. His mind slowed from its race and fell into a slow jog. It tried to recount the situation but failed miserably for a moment.

And finally it hit him.

The boy had not hurt him.

In fact, he had barely touched him.

He had pushed him away by his forehead like he had seen in countless comedies.

The skin on his forehead, he realized belatedly, had been hot and clammy from his own tossing and turning all night. He had woken in that state of shocked panic, screaming upon immediately spotting the other boy. But now his forehead felt colder where it had been formerly feverish, as if the boy before him had absorbed some of the heat from that minimal moment of contact that had occurred between them.

He took a moment, drawing in heavy breaths, and then pulled himself into a seated position again. The other boy had the smallest but vividly condescending smirk upon his lips as he looked at him. But his eyes were hooded and his pupils had contracted somewhat due to the light of the lamp he was facing. There was no gleam cast upon the deep red orbs but the shadows from his lashes gave the illusion of his pupils growing narrow and flipping upon their sides, becoming slits like a snake's. The effect of it made the other teen appear much more alluring and powerful. But the idea of such strength given to him by mere visual cues made his stomach twist, a frown crossing his lips. He chewed the inside of his cheek.

"Here, stay right there. I'm going to go downstairs and get a couple of paper towels," he muttered. His frown deepened at the blink that came across the other's face, the way he tilted his head slightly in question. His eyes had grown a little wider, his mouth moving into the tiniest pursed position, his expression making it clear that he was struggling not to form a puzzled "o" shape with his lips. "And then we can clean that blood off your face and check to see if there's anywhere else I hit you."

He immediately lost his surprised look. His mouth opened, lips curling back. The blood smear made him look like a Hollywood vampire. Yugi rushed to deter his response, leaping to his feet with a pointed ignorance. He was halfway out the door before spinning around to snap, "And if you pull that disappearing act while I'm downstairs, the next time we see each other, I'll clock you."

"Bullshit," the red-eyed teen commented in a silky tone, smirking. When he snorted, both of them felt a small tingle which both itched and burned. The other boy raised his hand to wipe at his nose. Yugi stared at the lightly-tanned skin to see if he could find more blood from the wound but the other dropped his hand before he could truly spot it. "I cannot picture you clocking someone."

"But I just did it a second ago."

"You swatted me with the heel of your palm. That is the only reason you managed to draw blood in the first place."

"Well…I'm going to pretend that I punched you instead. It would make me feel much more accomplished if I punched you instead of having had a sissy reaction and slapped you," he snorted, turning and walking off down the hall without a second glance. The other teen listened to the smooth pump of his heart, liquid and wet, a twisting pound of noise. Then he tilted his head and listened harder, straining for the soft footfalls which accompanied his steps, and slowly turned to survey the area.

The entire room was a small, almost like a bright  _tiny_ smooth-walled  _cage_. The corners were so close together that the second glance he took seemed to bring the walls towards him for a split second. The beautiful sky blue shade of color that made up the walls was perfectly spotless, immaculate wherever there were not those few possessions pinned to the walls. He took in various posters of Duel Monsters, a few scarce pictures of family and friends, but it did nothing to make the space seem more open. The bright color and the way that it was kept so clean sent his head into a spiral, his stomach lurching at the sudden idea of the walls closing in on him. All he had to do was turn his head and a wall would slink that much closer.

The warmth of the air, so foreign and constant, seemed only to add to the sensation, making his mind toss endlessly with a pressure that shouldn't have existed. The walls swam in his vision, swirling and dancing in his mind, as the instinct to lash out started to rear its head. He dragged his eyes along towards the window, his escape point, and the open space and cold air helped to clear his head slightly.

He eagerly took in the few stray beams of moonlight that filtered through the glass and breathed in deeply, lungs straining with the effort to draw in as much as he needed. The locking mechanism on the window made him tilt his head, curious as he focused in on it. The instinct to flee from the prison of blue made him take a step closer, but the reminder of why he had come smothered it quickly. A fleeting thought passed through the back of his mind, reminding him that he could easily escape without effort if he truly needed it, window be damned. But he was well aware the use of magic took large amounts of mental power to be able to control it without backlash so if he had to flee, it would be the window he would put to use. The way the room seemed to mess with his mind and flip his perception left little option.

He breathed hard to draw out some of the sting in his chest where his ribs felt like they were cracking beneath an invisible pressure and turned away again. A pale shadow rested on the carpet only inches from his feet, a focal point that consumed his mind for a long minute. It was almost chaotic, half-beaten into nonexistence by the bright yellow light the lamp provided from the other side of the bed.

The carpet was far too clean as he looked it over, trying to find a new route of investigation to search for what he had come for. It was strangely colored, a deep purple-blue indigo hue that was oddly relaxing in the way it seemed to slow his thoughts. But his skin crawled as he spotted some fibers that caught the light and seemed to glisten with an eerily otherworldly effect.

He had a small fleeting moment of recognition. Vibrant sparks of color and loud crackles of energy, flashes of lightning that made his ears roar, swarmed his mind and left his jaw clenching tightly. His teeth ached with the force of it and his jaw locked in place as he looked towards the bottom of the wall opposing the window. He surveyed for anything that could possibly be considered out of place to prove a stream of normalcy for him, finding nothing and feeling his stomach twist violently once more.

He closed his eyes briefly to keep the feeling at bay, trying to focus where his mind was threatening to spin again. His lungs grew tight and restrictive again, his chest feeling broken and his body suddenly feverish and itchy. The room was too warm, the air was too stuffy, the room was too fucking  _perfect, immaculate_ ,  _well-kept_.

Lights were starting to form behind his eyes, spinning and dancing violently, and his mind was dipping, his insides going through another spasm. The heat was starting to feel like tiny bugs creeping across his skin, his body hyperaware of the tension, of their touch. He pictured a tight, bright blackness like the gloss of a raven's feather, seeping into his skin and wrapping around his organs. Momentarily panic slipped into him, breaking like a dam, and madness flickered in his mind, illuminated by sky blue walls and blood that oozed from the ceiling.

The angles were swaying and dipping, toppling slowly inward to smother him. His eyes snapped open, focusing in on the window where cold air leaked in slowly and seemed to bathe his skin. The square of glass was slanted inwards, but his subconscious whispered it was just built that way, that the entire  _wall_ was built in a slope.

The stars blinked and swam but steadied after a few moments as he tried to regain focus. He had things to do and this was the only place to do it. The red-eyed teen waited until his lungs no longer felt restricted and the walls were spread out as they should have been, no longer painting his peripheral with sky blue.

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him in the least. He was well aware of the shade of color, how it was meant to connect with his mentality. Sky blue had always been one of those shades that normally made him feel somewhat safe only three days ago. It was one of the first things he had seen and it had often been the only thing that had kept him calm. Now it was the only thing that actually held a threat to him. Yugi was not around at the moment. The bastards he had dealt with before were not there. Instead the only threat he had was the walls, the way the color made them so much smaller and gave the slant of the one before him such power over his lilting mind.

His eyes shot to the bottom corner of the dark gray side of the small teen's desk and took in the somewhat reflective metal surface but found nothing worth noting. A small lamp sat on the top left corner directly beneath the glass and he vaguely took note of the little uncomfortable-looking chair that sat in the space between its legs. He took in the way that it was neatly pushed in as if he continued the habitual departure of his classrooms at home. So Yugi was a habitual little creature; he might be able to use that to his advantage later.

The surface was perfectly kept with such attention put into the task that it seemed almost as if the boy was deathly afraid of even the tiniest of germs. The entire metal top was reflective enough that he could see his face in it, something that he avoided pointedly as he looked it over, drawing in the tiniest details to distract himself.

Yugi could possibly be a narcissist or his parents could be perfectionists because the boy himself was not one, something he was certain of just by looking at him. He was too easygoing and laidback, slouched and wore the same clothes too often to be a perfectionist. So it had to be the parents because narcissism didn't seem like it was something that existed in Yugi's genes.

It took him a long moment to push away his musings enough to finally recognize that the lamp was actually  _attached_ to the metal lining of the desk. He glanced over his shoulder towards the dark hallway and back, wondering as he traced a finger over the smooth metal. It was one with the entire unit, a folding metal rod with a flat rectangular design, the glass sharp and almost cruel to his eyes as he looked it over.

A little alarm clock rested nearby, taking on the appearance of something akin a figurine, light blue with a pair of plastic eyes glued to the front and two straight lines drawn over the top of them to give it a determined expression. He blinked and slowly cocked his head to the side; the alarm clock countered the lamp's addition to his little musings. It said that he hated studying and used the alarm clock to give him a focal point during distractions where as the lamp said he had no trouble focusing on his tasks. The contradiction made for an interesting little fault in his room's design that made him feel slightly more welcome as he took in the two red bells.

A moment of inspection gave him the realization that they probably collided together when the timer went off. The way they curved upwards only helped to define the determination that had been assigned it, something that he supposed Yugi lacked when it came to studies. He smirked, guessing that the expression looked more victorious when it went off, giving the small boy a reason to celebrate his educational win.

A small series of books were lined across the top right corner, varying in sizes but all seeming to belong to the category of study materials. Something flickered in the corner of his eye and he turned his head, expecting it to be a particle of dust or a shadow that had passed from a night predator flying overhead, and then froze in place.

A mirror sat before him, in the corner of the desk, small and easily adjusted to take in different angles for observation. His temper flared, hatred surging through his veins, eyes locked on the sturdy-looking design of the metal frame. He wasn't close enough or particularly in the light for the mirror to actually catch his reflection, but it was enough to make him bristle and bare his teeth.

He reached out to flip it over and recoiled immediately, his eyes shooting towards the semi-reflective surface of the desk to look at the drawers next to it, yet another distraction. The outside of it seemed almost as if it was made of metal or at least a strong dark gray plastic that seemed made with the sole purpose of replicating to match the desk.

The red-eyed teen narrowed his gaze faintly and stared for a moment. The gray color supported some of Yugi's little theories about himself from before—he was neutral, with disinterest being his default state. He only felt things halfway, which was definitely reflected in the gray desk and drawers he was staring at.

He looked over the transparent plastic bins and narrowed his eyes at the small grips for one to slide their hand beneath and pull outwards. Easy access didn't mean much as far as trying to pick apart the smaller teen; it was just human laziness.

The entire set of drawers took up most of the corner and his red eyes flickered as they took in the design before finding the small strip of carpet that trailed its way towards the white case of bins. He tilted his head, taking in more study materials, the surface topped with a few books almost like he had done with the desk, most of them thicker or smaller in build.

Most of the drawers had labels and he stooped to read them but the symbols were as foreign as the very concept of the boy whose room this belonged to. The elegantly written words did nothing to help straighten them from the jumbled mess they formed in his tiring mind. Characters and letters brought far too many meanings, dragging and grating at his consciousness with barbs of unfamiliarity but keen knowledge, things that he should not know but was provided regardless.

Either Yugi was naturally a very clean person or it was forced on him by his parents. With gray and white so near each other, he supposed it was the former. But still he couldn't help but think that the alarm clock distinctly countered that idea. If he was so keen on studies, why would he need to decorate his alarm clock like that? If it was an attempt to express himself, it was too small to be openly noticed and the point would have been missed altogether. But the walls were rather bare too…

He glanced at one of them, took in a poster and a few scattered pictures, and turned away again, narrowing his eyes. A small burst of energy hummed in his veins as frustration pulsed through him. He shouldn't have risked that glance because now he was reminded of how small the space he stood in truly was. The distance between furniture had been dragged out mentally because of his musings but now he was losing his grip again. And to add to it, there was no more furniture he could see on this side of the room.

He forced his mind into a familiar dormancy, disconnecting for a moment so he could turn around and take in the wall opposite of him. His eyes locked on the single door that stood there, shuffling his consciousness slowly into awareness once more. The wall struck at the forefront of his mind, the color openly taunting him, but his eyes stayed on the door. He guessed it led to a closet or bathroom and wondered vaguely what color it was painted.

He looked the door over and then turned his head to the entryway that Yugi had wandered out of, tilting his head. The lights were still off and he could hardly see anything, but the tranquility of the darkness and the fact that his muscles were not bunched beneath his skin in preparation for attack said that the smaller teen was not returning just yet.

His eyes slowly shifted over to the massive pantry-like cabinet system right next to the door on the right, standing taller than him and distinctly higher than Yugi. He imagined that Yugi had to crane his neck and use the bed or stand on his tiptoes to do much with it. Or maybe he straightened his back when he went through his closet system. If he did, then he stood at about the same height as him. He wasn't stupid and he was well aware that Yugi wasn't as small as he looked, just that his posture and the way he tended to lower his head made him look so. He thought if the smaller boy straightened, he would be his height or possibly an inch beneath. He certainly wasn't taller unless he stood on his tiptoes and straightened his back completely, raised his chin in challenge.

The idea made him smirk as he looked over the doors, tilting his head and taking in the design of the knobs. He supposed he would have to pull them outwards so that they bent and slid in their compartment. The knobs were tiny and almost invisible against the deep blue shade of metal.

He glanced towards the door again, listening and even tipping his head to hear the other boy moving around in the kitchen, and then slowly moved towards it. He couldn't feel anything as he neared it, however, but he guessed maybe he wouldn't, considering the circumstances. His fingers grasped the knobs to the point that his hands nearly hurt, pulling and listening to the hinges creak with his exerted force. He listened to it smooth out into a gentle grinding noise that was barely noticeable and immediately set about looking upon each shelf. Clothes…and the Puzzle's box.

Red eyes widened and zeroed in on the ancient artifact, taking in the deep velvet-lined insides and the Egyptian carvings on the side. The way the lid was displaced allowed one to peek inside to see whatever lay inside but he knew without thought that he would find nothing. He looked over the various assortments of clothing and then forced himself to go about closing the doors again before his curiosity got the best of him. He still had a meaning behind his little visit here, after all, and his curiosity would only screw him over.

He nearly snarled at the creak that greeted the action, the grinding that came with the movements, and then found himself falling into a strange sense of beautiful euphoria as they finally clicked together gently. He drew his eyes to the other tiny nightstand, almost missing it. It was a mere sliver of a thing, where the lit lamp rested, and he was not at all surprised to find that it was metal as well. It was shaded differently, however, and that struck his interest for a moment.

He knew the meaning behind that color, ingrained in his mind, yet another thing that shouldn't have been out of his grasp but lay in his mind regardless. Self-denial and self-discipline. He snickered and shook his head, taking in the way that it was pressed so completely into the wall that there was no gap between the drywall and the bed.

The piece of furniture looked swallowed with some of the loose blankets that Yugi had scattered moments before. The color was intriguing but not enough to keep his head from feeling as if it were being prodded with fire as he stared at it. It was too deeply pressed and almost eloquently hidden, barely providing a barrier between the two. But then he noticed it. It was  _there_.

It lay there, right next to the bed, nearly touching the soft fabric of his deep yellowish-gold sheets. A low purr bubbled out of his throat as he took it in. The Puzzle, lying on its side with the Eye facing him and a thick chain of deep beautiful silver resting though the hook that made up the top of the upside down pyramid pendant.

He narrowed his eyes in delight as a blast of adrenaline shot through him. He cast a small glance out the door and listened once more, searching for noise to tell him of the smaller boy's presence, and then started towards the bed again. He got to the center of the mattress, fingertips of his right hand mere inches away when a pulse of energy slammed into him violently. He withdrew his hand, hissing softly and feeling unease creep through him as he felt vicious sparks flare in his subconscious, warning him to heed caution.

He stepped back off the bed, moving back several paces and glancing over his shoulder again towards the door. There was nothing to say that the boy was coming back just yet. Nor that he had felt any of the things that he had. But that didn't stop the angry pulse of energy from flaring in his mind again, a beacon of power that nearly knocked him to his knees in pain. He didn't question it and he was not about to mess with the magic that came with it.

Something moved in the corner of his vision once more and he froze in place, fear and disbelief clawing their way up from the pit of his stomach. Frustration scraped through him and slashed the other two into pieces, lighting his entire body in violent anger; by the gods…

He didn't think about it when he knocked the mirror to the floor, stomping on it until the frame broke and cracked violently. His blood boiled as the metal creaked and the base shook violently under his shoe. The glass cracking and grating against itself in the metal frame made his fractured, bleeding heart calm from where it had been racing and trembling with rage inside of his chest. His lungs constricted violently, making him clench his jaw tightly. His organs went through another spasm, his mind racing. His heart started to rattle in his chest and his lungs trembled and squeezed shut, collapsing altogether for a moment. His insides were beginning to feel hollow and broken but his blood made his skin feel feverish. He pulled away from the mirror just as he heard the footfalls that announced Yugi's return to his room.

"And now I know that I should never leave you alone with reflective stuff," the small teen commented wryly, rolling his eyes and gesturing him over.

The other teen stared at him for a long moment, confused even as his eyes narrowed and a defensive bristle overtook his stance, the need to lash out suddenly overcoming everything else. He peered at him through his lashes, vision shaded by the black shadows that crossed its path, watching the other boy who wasn't even looking at him or the mirror on the floor. He wasn't angry? Why the fuck wasn't he angry?

"What?" Yugi asked, turning his head to search his face. He could feel the anger and something like hurt creeping through his system, light touches against his own subconscious. The sensation confused him more than anything but it didn't stop him from playing with the washcloth he had soaked in the bowl of warm water resting on the bed. "Come on. I just want to clean the blood off of your face."

He stared at him for a moment longer, eyes as sharp as blood-covered shards of shattered glass. He took a reluctant step forward, glancing at the Puzzle quickly and waiting. But he could not feel its energy, dark and angry, against him anymore. Regardless, he was not going to take a chance with it. Distance was the key.

"Hey."

He blinked and shot him a slightly disturbed look, watching him as he took a seat on the edge of the mattress and placed the bowl in his lap. He took in the way one of his hands rested against the front, encircling it, and the other's fingers dipped in the water, grasping the cloth. His body language matched his eyes, open and friendly despite the position and the circumstances that had brought them together. But that did nothing to help him because he still couldn't figure out what the point of his statement was. "Why are you greeting me? You have already seen me," he muttered, tilting his head like a curious dog before narrowing his eyes again into slits and mumbling under his breath. "Fucking moron."

Yugi burst out laughing and shook his head, staring at him through his lashes. The other boy curled his lips back at the amusement that made his gaze so soft, watching him as he cracked up to the point that he nearly dropped the bowl and rag. "No, I was trying to get your attention," he snickered, smiling at him softly around another round of laughter threatening to spill out.

"You already  _had_ my attention. Why else would I have been looking at you?"

The smaller teen stared at him for a moment and then covered his mouth to hide the round of laughter that spilled out. He shook his head again, watching him and admiring the hilarity of his unapologetic attitude. He honestly looked like he would want nothing more than to shove his head into the bowl and hold it there until he stopped struggling. He was just so easily offended, on such high alert, and he didn't even have the fleeting  _thought_ of apology.

"Just come over here," he chortled, trying to stop laughing and clearing his throat after a moment to get rid of the last of it. The other teen merely glared at him from beneath the shadows of his long lashes, small burning embers of bright red flashing like crushed rubies in direct sunlight. "Please? I'm not going to hurt you or anything. Just come over here and let me fix your face."

" _Fix_?" he snarled, eyes flashing and burning into his gaze, bright enough that for a moment he had the abstract thought that maybe if he reached out he would feel the heat of fire from those blazing irises. "My face is not broken. But I will gladly break yours. And then we will see who needs to be  _fixed_."

Yugi squeezed his eyes shut at his own phrasing, realizing his mistake as he now thought automatically of a dog being neutered. His amusement surged into the other teen who hit him back with ferocity that made his laughter die immediately, eyes snapping open in shock. The other teen's stance had not changed in the slightest, standing with his back straight and rigid, eyes burning into his skin as he remained about a foot away. It took him a moment to notice that his dangerous irises seemed half-destroyed by the distortion his pupils brought.

"Okay, okay, look, I phrased that wrong," he stated, attempting to coax him forward with a gentle waving gesture of his hand. The other boy merely stared at him coldly and Yugi worked to keep his body language as open and friendly as he could. "I want to clean the blood off. Can I do that?"

"Give me the bowl. I will do it myself."

"But I'm the one who hurt you. I want to do it."

"Why the fuck should I care what you want?" he spat coldly, seeming to bristle like a startled wolf, baring his teeth for a moment as his eyes flashed dangerously as if glowing. He snarled softly, those bright red gums seeming oddly distorted in the light, and then his eyes widened for a split second. "I have no reason to care for your desires."

Yugi shook his head slightly. "No, I guess you don't," he agreed calmly, shrugging as he took in his expression and the feral light that came across his darkened eyes. "But you did just break my mirror and I don't exactly plan to just tell you where you missed a spot and stay up all night because you ignore me and refuse to wipe blood off where I point it out. I have school tomorrow."

"You mean today," the other teen sniped before he seemed to catch his tone again, eyes widening once more for a split second. He seemed to be finding himself no longer in need of the defensive precautions he had been taking before. Yugi smiled a little in amusement at the way his body language changed. His back released some tension but not enough to make him slouch or lose the touch of intimidation. His eyes narrowed faintly, his mouth relaxed from where it had been drawn in a long tight line. He watched the taller boy blink and study him closely, searching for something that the smaller boy guessed was a lie or a backhanded plan to get him over there to drive a knife through his chest. "You come here. I don't want to go over there."

His smile faltered, falling into a deep frown as he looked around for something that could have upset the other boy. He couldn't find anything for a long minute and a half, eyes searching every direction. He looked along the walls towards the Duel Monsters posters with the Spell-caster monsters, and then finally glanced momentarily towards the Puzzle lying on his nightstand.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, stomach twisting as the realization struck him that something was completely off about it. It appeared the same, still the brilliant gleaming form of hollow gold, bright and polished and beautiful to the eye, but there was…definitely something. He got up, shaking his head to banish the thought, and cast a glance at the clock lying on the desk near the other boy. He glanced at the vacant spot on the piece of furniture and then finally looked towards the mirror and his visitor.

He took a seat on the bed again and made a movement for him to get closer, the red-eyed figure hesitating for a single movement before moving towards him. He wasn't sure if the way that he moved, the silent grace and predatory allure that it possessed, was a show of confidence for him or Yugi at this point. Something had definitely happened in the time that it had taken him to get the washcloth out of the dryer downstairs, and whatever it was, it had shaken the other boy drastically.

"Okay, lean forward for me."

He stared, red eyes unblinking, and the smaller boy offered him another tiny smile, the curve of his lips just gentle enough that the rest of the tension in his spine slipped somewhat. Yugi fought off a squirm as the other boy braced his hands against his thighs. His palms rested uncomfortably close to his crotch, bunching the material of his light blue pajamas. The other boy moved his face a little closer to his, stopping at a distance that was just near enough that he could reach up and wipe the dried blood away.

Yugi thought that maybe the position was an attempt at a show of power. That if he made the wrong move the boy would be able to trap him without effort. He had no doubt the red-eyed boy could pin him down and kill him if he needed to. It might have been a power play but he wasn't about to ask. He was not sure he wanted the answer. But with the way his thoughts were currently flickering to dark alleyways that they had formerly traveled, he thought it might have been the boy's influence that made his mind twist this way.

He didn't often have thoughts as dark as this, as dangerous and vivid. He normally wouldn't have thought that someone was going to kill him. His mind had never automatically jumped to that assumption before, not when he was scared or stressed or even when he had been drinking coffee for a week straight and started hallucinating. No, these were dangerous and so life-like that he couldn't truly tell them from reality and that scared him more than anything else he had come across.

His thoughts flitted to the idea of when the boy had pushed him back onto the mattress. He could almost taste and feel the blood again. A moment of panic settled into his ribs and dissipated immediately again. He guessed he could add this to another long line of firsts he was getting with this boy.

It  _had_  to be the boy in front of him that had twisted and warped his mind so much. It was beautiful in a disgusting way, like some far corner of his mind had finally been blessed enough to have light shone upon it, but it didn't help to numb some of the fear.

He reached up and angled the other boy's head down fractionally, a little surprised when he was met without resistance. The smaller boy tipped his jaw up and ran the washcloth lightly over his mouth, working on the cut he had given him. The other boy's lips parted just enough to get the inside of the split lip and Yugi pursed his own with a shake of his head.

Confusion bubbled up in the pit of his stomach as he chewed his cheek. He didn't remember hitting him so hard, or even really touching him that much in the first place. He had thought the boy had pulled away with a reflex too fast for his hand to collide with his face. And yet, here he was, sporting a bruised nose, two fresh cuts colored a deep red where his mouth was pale, rivulets of crimson from his nose downwards…

He lightly dabbed at first, only applying more pressure when the other didn't flinch. He wrinkled his nose at the touch of fibers against his skin but still did not fight him. Yugi glanced into his eyes for a moment, quickly noticing the fact that the other had not so much as batted a lash the entire time. And the cut just  _looked_ like it had to hurt pretty badly, no matter how softly he moved the washcloth over his skin.

And his nose…

"Guess it's a good thing your lips aren't still swollen," he commented, grinning softly and trying to find some kind of abstract bright side the situation. The other teen gave him a cold look that he barely suppressed a grimace at. "And hopefully you've learned that you shouldn't break into someone's room through their skylight and then jump on their bed in the middle of the night. That was just rude."

The noise that escaped him was a half-interested grunt that held no actual bearing on anything. It wasn't even a noise of acknowledgment, just a response that seemed automatic as if he had just wanted Yugi to think he was paying attention.

"Seriously, don't fucking do that again," he snapped coldly, narrowing his eyes into slits to glare at him. He wished he was one of those people who got impulsively angry and tightened his grip on his jaw or something. But he wasn't, so he settled for glaring into disinterested eyes. "Do you not understand how scary something like that is? I woke up to you straddling me like you were about to choke me in my sleep."

"Oh, would you like an apology?" he sneered. "Because you shall not receive one from me."

Yugi sighed and rolled his eyes, losing the will to fight with him now. "You really are a prick," he commented softly, hoping for a bite to the statement but finding nothing other than a slight monotonous ring of defeat underlining his tone. He glanced at the clock for a moment and sighed, his breath ghosting over the red-eyed boy's face. The taller boy blinked wide eyes at the sensation, looking surprised and suddenly almost eager for it to happen again. "Well, there goes any chance of going to school today."

"You have an hour to sleep," he argued, glancing at the clock as well and frowning before turning back to him. He honestly had no idea how his mind translated the numbers to tell him the teen's schedule, but he wasn't about to ask either. The idea disturbed him slightly but it was nothing that he would dwell on.

He waited for Yugi to speak, watching him, and his heart leaped into his throat as he jumped a mile at the sound of the alarm going off loudly. He jerked backwards violently and Yugi burst out laughing as his head snapped towards the small figurine. The red-eyed teen's mouth opened and closed once as he tried to steady his breathing and regain some kind of calm.

The shrill chime made his ears ring until he thought they were bleeding but when he turned his head, the smaller boy only laughed harder at his distraught expression, holding a hand up before getting to his feet. Red eyes watched him go over to turn off the alarm with a button on the back of the clock. The soft click came out full force, not at all blunted by the noise of the bells clanging together, and he relaxed some as Yugi shook his head slowly and laughed gently.

"What? Have you never heard an alarm go off before?"

The other teen stared at him with that same dangerous expression that had crossed his face when he had used the word "fix" in reference to his face. Frustration and bitter disgust shown like a beacon in wide red eyes, the shock and distress caused by the noise still visible within them as well. Yugi watched his back straighten and his jaw clench, offensive rather than flighty and ready to flee as he had been moments before. He studied the darkened blood of his eyes, frowning as he took in the way that he was now glaring viciously.

"Sorry. I was going to say that it's actually broken. I can't get it to set on the right time and it's an hour early. It's still seven in the morning," he murmured softly, a small growling noise coming from his stomach and making his eyes lower towards the floor for a second. His gaze drifted and locked on a couple of broken shards on the floor, staring at the image that greeted him there.

Long black wisps of something like smoke, moving and bunching together, shifting and traveling, coiling around in the air, never changing in their form but still constantly moving…

He dragged his eyes slowly towards the other boy, finding that he was still more focused on the clock than him, and then quickly turned away again.

* * *

How did one begin a conversation like this?

How did you tell your best friend that someone had broken into your house through your skylight?

How did you tell your best friend that that person had managed to bring you to a place where no one could see you but you could see everyone around you?

How did you go about saying that this someone had given you thoughts of death that you couldn't explain?

How did you casually mention that you thought you were going insane because he had managed to twist your mind so well that you had actually thought you were  _dying_? That he had drawn you into such a hallucination that you  _truly_  thought that you could feel your blood leaving your body?

How did you tell your best friend that that same someone had broken your mirror on the desk and their reflection was that of…well… _shadows_? Twisting, writhing, screaming shadows?

How did you tell your best friend that?

And, more importantly, was it even actually a good idea to do so?

Yugi wasn't sure. He was sitting there with Joey at his side, listening to some idle chatter about how hot Mai was. He had learned in the course of five minutes that the blonde had the  _softest_ hair ever and that she was going to the states for a vacation and that she would be in Vegas. He had heard the word  _Vegas_ emphasized over twenty times now and it was kind of frustrating him. He listened to him talk about their date after he had left them alone yesterday. He listened to an almost exact play-by-play of how he had gotten her to agree to the date in which they had gone to dinner and a movie and then swung back by his place. He talked about how she seemed to love Serenity and even offered to do her hair sometime.

Yugi stared at the projector for a long minute, blindly taking in the problem Ms. Chono was working out on the board for them, but he nodded at his friend to keep him going so he could think. Because, maybe, just maybe, if he talked through all the way to the end of class, he could just forget about what was going on and ignore his problem altogether.

He hadn't been able to do so before, his mind always circling straight back to the other boy and leaving his thoughts shaken and shattered like glass. But he had tried and he couldn't help but feel envious of those who could just put something out of their mind effortlessly or lose themselves in a conversation. Because he had never been one of those people. He always tended to have the thought or problem burn in the back of his mind like a bright flame.

It would lap at his thoughts and beg for attention, always there despite the conversation he partook in. It would scream and beg and it would be so much easier if he could actually  _relax_ for once in his life. He thought he would truly be beyond happy if he could just get the scattered broken image of the red-eyed boy out of his head…

"Shit, I'm sorry, man. You had something you wanted to talk about?"

The smaller teen turned his head and stared at him in confusion. For a moment he had nothing to say, his mind completely blank as the image there shattered and fled. And then he debated for a long minute and a half as their eyes locked. He searched his face for some kind of hint of what to do and found nothing.

Did he tell him? Did he actually open his mouth and bother with spilling that little secret about the other boy?

Did he truly put to words the anxiety that the other boy's entire  _existence_ brought him?

Did he even have the  _right_ to tell him about all of this?

And if he did,  _how_ exactly did he begin?

There was something inside of him that recoiled and twisted violently at the very idea of sharing. It screamed a persistent roar of "no" and said to keep him his little secret. It said that he would be able to figure it out on his own, that he had no  _need_ for an outside opinion on the matter.

That the boy would not hurt him.

Would not kill him…

Would not harm the others…

Did he follow that instinct or did he try to force the words out to speak to Joey? But if he actually told Joey, he would tell the others and Yugi didn't know if he could handle them all worrying about him like this. Especially Tea. If he worried her, he would feel sick with guilt…

"Nah, never mind. It's fine. I just figured it out on my own."

"You sure man? I mean, I'm free to talk if you want to."

"Yeah, I'm sure."  _I think I can handle it. I don't think he'll hurt me. Something has to be holding him back from it…_ "Thanks Joey."

The blond nodded, looking completely unconvinced, but Yugi didn't care enough to bother with saying anything more about the matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll answer any questions or reply to any comments if someone wants to leave me one. Anyways, thanks for the read~


	3. Chapter III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh
> 
> Update Schedule: Since I’ve already completed and posted this story on ff, I am going to try to update it weekly with the edits around updating on ff as well.
> 
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer’s block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it would be appreciated. Please and thank you.

Chapter III

Yugi stirred slightly. His ears were ringing violently with the noise that had startled him into complete awareness, but it was growing far too quiet now. The shrillness of it was slowly dissipating but it was gone instantly when he attempted to grasp it, to find a focus of some kind. A soft touch of something like a quiet exhale or the contact of the tips of long fingers against glass peaked his interest further.

Slowly he cracked his eyes open into slits, peering through his lashes. At first he could not truly decipher and absorb any of what was happening. He did not want to make any sudden movements however—whether for himself or the other, he had no idea—and he swore his tongue bled when he bit it in order to fight back a loud yelp.

Despite the slope of the skylight, the pair of shoes resting on the glass was perfectly balanced and looked completely resistant towards the very idea of a slip. He continued watching him with a curiosity that grew instinctively keen, tense as it bit violently at his insides. He knew without thought that it was the other teen but it did not stop the sense of wonder and shock that came with the sight. He listened to the glass slide fluidly, the way that it creaked softly and then moved freely, a soft humming noise as it slipped open and let the other teen fall through.

The thud that came with his shoes hitting the metal of the desk was as soft as the landing of a slim feline, nearly inaudible. Yugi stiffened at the slight announcement of weight, then blinked and struggled to maintain his sleepy expression. He was wired, wide awake at the sight of him.

But he waited beneath the blankets, keeping them high over his shoulders, and patiently wondered if the other boy might say anything. The noise was so gentle and almost nonexistent and it still made his stomach crawl and his skin twitch. It was alarming just how easily the other had crept into his room like this.

It was as if he weighed nothing.

Yugi felt his skin heating. He was not sure if it was a blush or if he was simply hot and feverish. He’d woken in the middle of the night earlier and had to flip his pillow and move to the other side of the bed because of it.

Did the boy not weigh _anything_? He blinked and looked the red-eyed teen over for a moment. Since he was pretending not to notice him, Yugi was able to get a good enough glimpse of him to feel his stomach twist painfully. He looked and felt solid. But his reflection had been so matted and twisted and completely unnatural. And if he was nothing more than a shadow like it suggested, he shouldn’t have any sense of weight or power, should he? A shadow was, after all, supposed to just be the absence of light…or something along those lines anyways.

But then, when was the last time someone had heard of shadows bleeding and glaring and writhing and screaming?

When was the last time someone said they had seen them clumped together in the form of a body?

A body that bled and felt emotion as deep as the ocean, and with a tongue as sharp as a blade?

Since when had a clump of shadows been able to gain physical presence and an aura so great that it was enough to make a room aware of its place within it?

The boy in front of him—he gave the word predator a significantly new meaning. He put the most dangerous of creatures to shame seemingly by mere _existence_.

Yugi suppressed a shiver. But he knew just as well as the other boy that he was well aware that he was no longer asleep. His heart leaped into his throat as he leaned up and slid the window to a close and the smaller teen continued to pretend that sleep was truly an option.

He could not read his expression because the darkness covered his face and all its defining features like a mask. But he could see his eyes, the way they glowed softly but brilliantly in the darkness. But Yugi was also well aware that this boy was not nearly as gullible as he was trying to make him seem.

He stood on the desk for a single moment. Then he stepped silently around on the top of the metal as if trying to make it clear that he only allowed him to hear him because he had desired it. Then the boy dropped down, a mere disturbance of rustled clothing and soft weight against the plush blue-purple of the carpet.

The air dropped from its usual warmth to a blast of frigid wind that cloaked the room like a blanket. His body grew further rigid and the hairs on his arms beneath the comforter rose with static precision. His eyes widened and he moved his fingers slightly from where they rested in a pose to pull his pillow down further to snuggle into. His skin began to prickle and a sensation of ants crawling over his flesh made him freeze in place for a split second.

He noticed that the boy was not looking at him. But he also saw the clear smirk which lingered on his thin lips. His upturned cheek was caught by some scarce moonlight amongst the clouds, the sharp line of his jaw interrupted by the arrogant curve.

In the darkness, the stray beams hit only the very corner of his shadowed eyes, but Yugi swore it lit the entirety of his iris visible to him. The smaller boy knew it hardly even touched the white that was offered but he saw it glowing in small lines of brightened red against dark shadows.

What exactly was he doing? Why wasn’t he talking? Was there a reason for him to be there? Had he sought him out for something? Did he need something? Or was he just toying with him? Did he want him to take the initiative towards conversation?

Yugi was getting so tired of having questions and never any answers. He was drowning dangerously in the silence that suddenly seemed to constantly follow him. And it only thickened and burned at his skin the more it lingered, even with the cold relief of ice which the boy brought with him. He hated it all so much, how it always seemed to crystallize and cover him like a boulder. It was too heavy for him to do anything and he was so easily crushed beneath it.

He closed his eyes, trying to steady himself and force the words out of his mouth as he took a deep breath. “You know I’m awake, so I don’t get why you aren’t talking,” he mumbled, his voice coming out so soft he had to strain his ears.

He listened to him move and shift his weight as if he were preparing to take another step. But the footfall never met the smaller boy’s ears and he knew that he was still in that exact same spot only a few steps away from the desk. He waited, wondering vaguely what was holding the other boy in place like this, and then finally opened his eyes after a long minute of suffocating silence.

He had almost expected him to be gone but he found him still standing there. His chin was tipped upwards and his eyes were searching along the wall. He was staring at one of his posters with an expression that Yugi could not read in the dark. He strained his eyes, peering at him through his lashes, but could find nothing. He had his body half-turned towards the wall, his head tipped up and his eyes narrowed, and Yugi cold see that his right heel was raised slightly.

He shook his head, confused and feeling vaguely overwhelmed by his perfect stillness. Then he reached behind himself blindly for a moment. It occurred to him that the other might disappear suddenly if he did not keep him in his sight. And finally his fingers grasped the cool metal—which was now like ice from the aura the other brought with him—so that he could yank it.

The room was bathed in yellow artificial light. The walls took on the slight tint, whitish around the edges behind him. The other boy’s uniform was just as dark as it usually was, however, almost as if it were absorbing the light rather than reflecting it.

For a moment the other boy kept his chin up and his entire body focused in on this one sheet of paper. Then, finally, as if with great reluctance, his eyes flickered as they shot to his face, burning as they locked with his.

“I was expecting you to be asleep by now,” he drawled with a blink that Yugi nearly missed. His red eyes flashed where the light struck them and his pupils looked gray and hollow for a split second. Then they contracted, adjusting, and took on the form of something akin a black starburst effect. Little tendrils of black leaked and blended with red at the edges and Yugi nearly shivered as he watched it keenly, unable to look away for even a second.

"What were you planning to do? Spend the night wandering my room and watching me sleep?" he scoffed, voice coming out weak and then strengthening into something of an undertone of a soft sneer. He searched his face and narrowed his eyes, surprise bubbling up when he saw the cynical expression the other wore at the retort. "Yeah, that's not going to happen."

"That sounds utterly repulsive to even consider. Who the hell would do  _that_?"

Yugi almost smiled at the disdainful tone. Then he shrugged and pulled his blanket up so he could snuggle back into the mattress. His fingers tugged the pillow further down once more. A sense of self-consciousness began to lap at his insides, begging for him to hide away from the scrutinizing gaze so solely directed towards him. He had no idea if it was the boy standing in front of him or if it was himself but he had no plans to listen regardless. He was not about to hide from him.

“Some people find it attractive, apparently,” he snorted sarcastically, shrugging and trying to force away the edge of embarrassment in his system. He squirmed slightly to make himself more comfortable but the blankets were too warm and if he shifted to the other side of the bed it felt as if he would be retreating. “I don’t know. I really don’t care either. The _point_ , though, is that I still want to know what it is that you’re doing here.”

He blinked and tilted his head, raising a brow. “Well, considering that I knew you were awake, I figured that I would come to speak to you.”

He wanted to talk? Yugi nearly sat up, attention caught by the idea.

“About what?”

He was so quiet as to be nearly deathly silent. For a split second Yugi could not figure out if he had disappeared yet again. But he couldn’t understand why if he had sought him out to talk to him about something. Why flee all of the sudden if that was what he had wanted to do?

But the idea of his random departure made his skin crawl. The blankets made him feverish. His spine tightened with a brief but sudden anxiety. His eyes snapped opened again and shot towards the corner of the room. A sigh of relief came into his lungs. He was still over there.

He was still standing there, staring. His head was tilted to the side, his legs were drawn a little closer together though not crossed, and his right heel was still raised. The only difference besides his slight change of posture was the fact that his eyes were not narrowed into slits of burning red.

“It’s a nice poster, huh?” he tried, confused about what he was supposed to attempt a conversation with. What words did the other expect him to speak? It would be so much easier if he might give him a hint.

The statement earned him a soft chuckle that only puzzled him more. It was edged with cynicism and lowered with boredom, dry as the desert, as if the boy was not actually interested in conversation at all.

Yugi licked his lips and shifted slightly to brace himself on his elbow. “So, where have you been anyways? I haven’t seen you for a couple of days…”

The statement gained him momentary attention. His head turned to stare at him with caution shining against his dark eyes, his gaze narrowing briefly before he blinked. Yugi watched his pupils for a moment, taking in the way they retracted and then spread out again. The distorted shape sent a shiver down his spine as he watched his gaze flare and flicker, embers dancing among crushed rubies.

"What? So you aren't going to talk to me?"

He considered him thoughtfully, his red eyes sharp as they bore into him. “I had no plans to,” he admitted in a sly tone.

"But you just  _said_ that you figured you would come and speak to me."

"I changed my mind."

"Then what the hell are you still doing here? I still have school in the morning."

"Mmhmm."

Yugi felt something of a blush creep across his cheeks. The other had never had any intention of talking to him. He had been leading him on because it was the simplest thing to do and because he knew Yugi would want to think that was his reasoning. Flustered, the smaller teen found himself grimacing if only slightly.

He watched him move over to the desk and lean against the metal, studying him with a pointed stare as if he wanted something from him. But how was he meant to give him something that he had no idea he wanted? Yugi could hardly fathom that he could desire anything from him in any capacity of the word.

If he really wanted something, wouldn’t he simply attempt to take it on his own?

But then, he _had_ said that he had something of his and he wanted it back. But he had made no attempts to take anything. And his mere presence caused his skin to crawl. It set his mind on edge. And the way he watched him so silently gave him the clear indication that he was not the slightest bit receptive towards making conversation or even meeting him halfway.

"Okay, are you actually going to talk or not?"

The other teen’s eyes stretched wide in feigned innocence, lips pulling back into a smirk of amusement. “I did not truly plan on it now that you mention it,” he commented, chuckling softly.

Yugi narrowed his eyes at the mocking laughter that made his irises dance with a thousand different shades of red, flecks that swam and scattered easily. He watched him tilt his head downwards slightly, his lashes casting a more defined shadow across his gaze. And he took in the way that the shadows spread in the outer ring of his eyes, a long line of darkness that circled the edges but faded almost completely near the center. His lips curved up into a wider smirk, laughing a little louder, gaze burning into the smaller boy's, and Yugi felt like he was trapped.

All it took was a blink and the pit he had fallen into gave way to control again. Yugi breathed a little hard for a second, testing, and then shook his head slowly. He was too tired for this, didn't have enough time for this.

"Then could you please get out?" he sighed, rubbing at his face. "It's hard enough trying to fall asleep as it is without you here."

Yugi almost missed the way his smirk curved further and his lips pulled back to show both rows of teeth. For a split second they looked razor sharp, like blades. Then he blinked. They looked normal, but his eyes widened as he took in the way his canines glinted, too sharp to be natural.

The smaller boy swallowed hard and tensed his body. He was ready to snap at him to get out when the other abruptly pushed himself away from the desk. His gait towards him was more ethereal than he had ever seen, unnatural and smooth, as if he were gliding rather than walking.

His heart hammered in his chest, eyes widening drastically. Fear made his muscles seize. The red-eyed teen came to the bed, leaning forward to whisper into his ear, voice plagued by snickers, “Watch your step, little Yugi.”

* * *

 

“Dude, Serenity is going to be so freaking happy to see you again,” the blond laughed, grinning at him widely as he started down the white hallways with the other boy a step behind him. Yugi glanced at the sterile surroundings in discomfort even as his lips pulled back into a soft smile at the statement.

He was more than just slightly aware of the crush the girl had on him, something that she made incredibly obvious. It had always flattered him, though he had never thought of her as more than his best friend’s little sister. She had never been serious about it, just like he wasn’t when he kind of indulged in giving her longer hugs than he would anyone else. It was just that she was so sick and it always got a massive smile and made her day when he was there to see her.

He had never come alone before, often because he tended to chicken out when he had to come to a hospital. It reminded him too much of his grandpa being bedridden and it always scared him and left him worried. It was bad enough that he had collapsed in front of the game shop on his way to meet Arthur the day he was meant to go to Egypt with him. It was worse that he had been physically fine and no one could explain it and he’d left regardless of the abrupt frailty he had exhibited. Yugi was still not over the fact that when he had called the hospital and his doctor had okayed his trip he had rushed off without more than a hug and a goodbye.

He bristled at the thought. He had finished the Puzzle that day. And his grandpa had collapsed. But Arthur had been _with him_ that day that they found the Puzzle. And, for whatever reason, he had been completely _unaffected_.

He shook his head slightly. It wasn’t worth dwelling on at the moment. So far his grandpa was fine. He had chatted with him over video at the hotel they were at the night before. He had spent time with him talking about some of the items they had found. It was nothing as elaborate as the adventure he had gone on to find the Puzzle. But it was still fun to hear regardless.

Yugi glanced at Joey sideways. He was another reason he had never come to the hospital alone. Not only was it because he always offered and Yugi always readily accepted his company, but also because of his overprotective big brother streak. He had, on more than one occasion, said that he had better not find out he had ever visited her without him there too.

Joey went ahead of him, chattering about something, and Yugi glanced around. A rigid touch of ice had begun to seep through the air. He stopped walking instantly, eyes widening. Mist crept into his skull, then enveloped his entire body by way of his blood.

He blinked, then spun around quickly. He yelped and stumbled, feet catching on each other. He wheeled his arms for a split second. But then he found his shirt caught.

It was a lightning-fast maneuver. His arms were still braced outwards. His left fell to his side. But his right was still half-raised. His eyes were wide, pupils blown with shock. His head was tilted, his mouth opening and closing.

The grip on his shirt was tight enough to cut his breath off. The other twisted the fabric with a lazy tilt of his wrist. He held him in place. He kept him on his feet. And he was not the least bit amused by his response.

“Holy fucking shit…”

“Do you think you have regained your footing yet?” he sneered coldly, voice lowered into a vicious coil of intense hatred. Yugi felt his blood heating and his skin tightening with fight-or-flight. His instincts were going off like an alarm, warning him away from this red-eyed boy. But another part of him cowed and yet another wanted nothing more than to remain there. “Or need I hold your hand, _Yugi_?”

“What the fuck are you even doing here?” he spat instead, pushing him away and staring with wide eyes. He swallowed hard and felt his skin prickle. What was he doing here? How had he even found his way there? Had he followed him? But then how would he have gotten there without someone else noticing? Of course Joey would have pointed it out that they were being followed at some point. He had a habit of following people and knew when he was being stalked, after all… "Did you  _follow_ me?"

The other boy did not even blink. He pulled him forward in a single movement that made him stagger a step before finding his equilibrium and staring at him in alarm. The red eyes flashed dangerously, dark for a moment before brightening with disgust as he released him with a slight shove. It was actually gentler than the initial grab, Yugi realized in amazement.

“I did not _need_ to follow you,” he snapped in a gelid tone, narrowing his gaze into slits of dark red and curling his lip back. “Your mind is chaotic enough I could hear it from halfway across this stupid little island.”

Yugi blinked and bared his teeth, his fight-or-flight instinct swerving to the left in an attempt to make him flee. “And look, the _source_ of that chaos is right in front of me,” he bit out, pausing for a moment before frowning as his teeth dug into his cheek uncertainly. He had to have a reason to be there, right? He had not come into contact with the red-eyed teen since almost four days before and now here he was…

Surely there had to be a reason behind his sudden appearance, right? He couldn't imagine that he was just checking up on him. The red-eyed teen hardly seemed like one to do something so simple. Not that he seemed inclined towards giving a damn about him in the first place, either…

"Did you need something or—?"

He didn't know why he had expected an answer; that was far too easy, too normal.

So of course the boy didn't give him one.

He was pressed against the wall, though not in the same rough way that he had been crushed there in the alley. But it was enough that he could feel the chill through his clothes, playing at the vertebrae of his spine, at war with the frigidness that was the other boy’s lips. As if responding from something deep inside of him, his skin began to burn, prickling and threatening to bring on perspiration.

Ice and flames flickered and nipped his flesh, their war for dominance leaving his head spinning momentarily. Yugi couldn’t tell what was going on in his mind at the moment. But his lips were moving against his, soft and deceiving where his tongue was brutal and sharp as a whip as it always seemed when he spoke. Icy moonlight and dark nights, stars and winter and persistence that was impossible to ignore…

He was applying far too much pressure. Yugi could not move from his position, pressed against the wall forcefully with the taller teen’s body. His lips were frosty and somewhat rough but they were growing softer, warmer, and the smaller boy knew it was his own skin warming him so rapidly.

He blinked again, staring at the long lashes and golden-bronze skin, the muscles that worked beneath his flesh. Slowly, his body tensing drastically, he caught sight of the eye he was so focused on opening into a narrow slit of gleaming blood.

His lashes gave his pupils that starburst effect once more, the shade of which he realized with sudden clarity was about—or possibly truly _was_ —the shade known as vantablack. It was bottomless, all-encompassing, and it blurred the edges of his red irises, bleeding into them further. Yugi breathed raggedly into the other boy’s mouth at the sight. The colors were blending, consuming each other steadily as if in competition for something he had no name for.

The smaller teen blinked in confusion for a split second, swallowing hard as he struggled and felt his hand snaking downwards. Had he been touching him at any point before?

He could not recall anymore. Something in the back of his mind was fuzzy and seemed shattered. It was desperate, bleeding, crying and writhing without a sound. He was not even sure if he felt something in the pit of his stomach or anywhere in his body.

The most he could grasp was the cold, chills like ice and numbing like spilled blood. By the gods, he didn't know what was going on…

 _Get off of me_ …

Was that too soft?

He thought he could barely even hear it as a whisper in the back of his mind. It was broken and trailing, completely lost somewhere in the daze that had settled over his body, his tired mind. He shifted and twitched to get out of his grip. His mind was struggling with the concept of being trapped by the taller boy.

His skin was starting to feel as if ants were crawling on it. It was not an unpleasant sensation but it was enough to strike at his nerves. The boy must have been messing with him because he had never felt this way when they had interacted before. He tried to force some kind of warmth into his limbs, attempting to gain some kind of control of his body to push him away or maybe pull him closer…

 _Get off of me_.

The hand stopped and the writhing in the back of his mind came forward—panic, alarm, strength…

He pushed the boy hard enough to make him move away but the smaller teen wasn’t completely oblivious to the reality of the situation. The boy had backed away on his own, not affected in the least by his attempt to push him.

His forceful try had been nothing more than a failure at a display of power. And he saw it in the other boy’s eyes even before he shot him the most condescending look he had ever seen. His head tilted slightly and his eyes grew partially hooded, lip threatening to curl.

His red eyes flashed coldly, growing bright in the center and dark in the corners. The effect reminded him almost of a drop of blood falling and splattering, a single drip which spread out in color, grew different shades of the same color in only milliseconds…

“What…? Honestly, what _are_ you doing?” he muttered, moving his hands to his shoulders and pressing his palms into lean bone and soft flesh, confused. The cotton blend beneath his hands was chilled and left his palms tingling as they stared at each other.

He felt so different. Was he somehow colder? Was that even _possible_? He furrowed his brows as he looked the other boy over. He definitely was not warmer than when they had last interacted. Something about his body temperature had changed, that was for sure, at least.

“Gods, what _are_ you doing?”

The other teen blinked as if he did not know how to answer the question. He looked at him as if the very suggestion was offensive and left him completely confused. He stared at him as if he had no idea what do past this. And the look in his gaze said something akin not knowing how to grasp the situation or the statement Yugi had just made.

His eyes were dilated, dark and rimmed with vantablack.

Yugi furrowed his brows, staring in confusion and peering at the color.

It was like staring into complete blackness. It had no true edges, had no true definition. There was no depth, just emptiness, so dark that it left him feeling almost violated with the chill that misted over his insides. His mind was spitting out vague information, little thoughtless sputters of noise.

Vantablack, the darkest material or color in existence.

Absorbed all but .035 percent of light.

Light got trapped inside of it rather than bouncing off.

He shivered.

Maybe his eyes were just darker or something?

He blinked.

No. That was black, so dark that honestly he could only tell where the ends were because of the small ring of red that circled his pupils.

Yugi shivered again as he looked at him.

Ventablack was a nanofabric, but the color of his pupils essentially had the same effect. They had no actual ending for him to see aside from small lines, the starburst effect still somehow completely visible.

There was no light in his eyes. The whites beneath his lashes harbored nothing of the reflection of light that they should have.

Where he had been hoping it was just some dark, color-deprived red, he was finding immediately that it wasn't.

"What the fuck?"

In all actuality he had no idea if he was addressing the idea of this boy’s eyes being so dark or if it was the fact that he still had his hand on him. His head was still spinning, almost terrified by the strength of the realization. He could not even see his own reflection in his eyes now. It was too dark, with nothing to show there…

Yugi kept him at the same distance despite the obvious tension that was developing under his fingers. The other boy’s lips fell into a solid line, his jaw tensing, and his eyes flared with pure rage that sent his heart skipping beats. The red in his gaze flashed and burned, and Yugi knew he was ready to lunge forward to press their mouths together again.

“Stop doing that. Stop doing— _this_. Following me around, appearing out of nowhere, shoving your tongue down my throat and”—his cheeks lit in a blush and he swore he saw his reflection in the other boy’s eyes abruptly, for a split second, small and innocent and completely inexperienced aside from  few nights of watching a couple of porn tapes—“you hand down my pants.”

"Stop? Why should I stop?"

Yugi blinked, almost lost in the darkness that made up his eyes, how unnatural and terrifying they were, but found himself narrowing his gaze. Incredulity crept through him. He half-expected to have heard him wrong because surely even this red-eyed boy in front of him did not possess such audacity.

No one could be so blatantly disrespectful and still fail to see the error of the statement they had just made. He shook his head, about to snap at him, and then really _looked_ at him.

He was not sure if it was the disconnected emotions that had thrown him into realizing what was wrong with the entire situation. He wasn’t sure if it was the way the words repeated themselves in his head and he couldn’t hear the malice that should have accompanied them. But either way, it was enough to make him finally really look.

He honestly did not understand why he wanted him to stop. It showed in the way he tilted his head only slightly and his shoulders relaxed beneath his hands for a split second. His voice had curled with interest, intense curiosity, and it showed now on his face.

His lips had grown relaxed. The red in his eyes had stretched some, pushing away a bit of the darkness of his pupils and the borders of his irises. And it became apparent in that moment. He thought it was normal. He actually assumed that his behavior was completely and absolutely normal.

His face was changing once more, however. His expression had drawn into an openly blank look. His left shoulder and risen beneath his fingers, slightly higher than the other, openly curious. His eyes had grown a bit wider than they had been moments before. He was completely focused on him now. They burned into his, blazing as his eyebrows drew forward slightly…

He blinked once and then followed it up with a second, slowly but surely shaking his head in disbelief. His mind tried to wrap around the concept and failed miserably. There was no way that someone could find such a thing normal. How exactly could anyone expect that _this_ was normal? How could _anyone_ …?

“Because I don’t want you doing this! I don’t want some kid I don’t even _know_ doing _this_ kind of stuff to me, damn it,” he snarled, pain rippling through his insides.

The other boy did not even blink. But his eyes flashed and it was clear that he felt the same ache. Yugi’s head spun violently for a moment, feeling his stomach twist. It was a vain effort to dispel some of the sickness he knew was creeping through him.

He had weaseled his way into his mind, had brought with his sudden appearance more pain than pleasure or _anything_ even remotely satisfying. His emotions were still spiked and erratic, cruel and dangerous and solely overpowering. It was not the least bit tame and his head did not even feel as if it were his own anymore.

He still had to question where he ended and the other boy began. There were only _so_ many places where he could bleed and not find himself overlapping with the taller teen in front of him.

And that was just something far too impossibly strained a concept for him to even truly wrap his head around. How did one live like this? Was this what it felt like to have split personalities, _multiple_ people living in your head? But he doubted that one personality would wish to molest the other.

And besides that, the boy was physical. He had opened his window. He had thrown him against the wall. He had pulled him off his stool at the arcade. He had saved him from an early defeat in that same game.

And yet his reflection in that single shard of glass had been darkness, shadows that had somehow managed to build a physical form that  _bled_.

"When you leave here, stay away from me," he spat, narrowing his eyes at the laughter that came from the other boy. The rich noise made his skin crawl and his spine tense, a small feeling of sickness washing through him for a split second before growing enraged with his blatant dismissal. " _What_? What the hell is so funny? Stay  _away_ from me."

"That exactly. That right there. It is perfectly hilarious."

"No, it's serious. Come near me again and I swear I'm going to kick your ass, got it?"

"That is a sweet sentiment but it does not work."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"Because, besides the fact that you have no control over me, little game, I am not one to  _bend_ to another's  _will_. Now, that aside, there is also the fact that staying away is impossible."

" _Do not_. I don't believe in bullshit obsessions. You're a piece of work and you push my buttons endlessly but you are  _not_ going to say I am your little obsession."

He glared at him furiously, tempted to dig his nails into his skin. For a moment Yugi wanted to tear him open. But he wasn't sure if it was the rage or something lingering beneath his skin, buried under that anger. It felt like several things were bubbling and resting somewhere inside of him. He could feel something pulsing inside of him, nothing that he recognized but felt so familiar.

"Hardly something so trivial," he drawled, voice ending in a loud purr, curving upwards and pressing into Yugi's skin like claws. For a moment they watched each other, Yugi's head spinning, and then the other boy caught him around the throat suddenly. His fingers were too cold, like someone pressing ice into his skin or the breeze of a winter too frozen to bear. "No, it is  _necessity_. Pure and simple. I need you and you need me."

Yugi felt his insides twist. Bile rose in the back of his throat, too hot, tasting of acid that nearly scorched him. He went to claw at his wrist, desperate for relief as the burn trailed further upwards. The other boy snatched his hand away immediately before he could even think to make contact.

"That's a lie," he snapped coldly, wishing for a split second that his hand was still against his feverish skin. He was desperate for relief from the burn that flared in his blood and heated his skin, left him wanting to stick his head in the freezer. "And you're a coward to hide behind a statement like that. I don't need you. Maybe you need me—"

"Are you truly so foolish? One thing I had never thought attributed to you was stupidity. Are you about to prove me wrong?"

Yugi opened and closed his mouth once before falling silent again. He could not think of a single thing to say. There was some truth to his words and the small teen recognized it somewhere in the back of the scattered outer regions of his mind. An attraction of some kind, primal and feral, with enough power to make him really consider the words he had just spoken. It was just enough to stop him from lashing out and attacking him, to keep him from repeating himself, and yet Yugi had no idea how to even attempt scratching the surface of it.

Or…maybe he did because the key to it seemed to be standing right in front of him, red-eyed and tall, sharp lines and dangerous features.

"You're right. I recognize that. So here's what's going to happen."

"Did you disregard my statement from before?"

"Oh, you can keep your stubborn will but if you really want my help, all this constant touching is going to stop."

"Your idea is cute."

Yugi sighed loudly, reaching up to pull on a handful of his bangs with a shake of his head. He kept his other hand on the boy’s shoulder, where the bone was soft and smooth beneath his skin. He wanted to drown in the sensation of cold which came with such easy contact. He could feel heat building inside of him, fire burning and lashing at every part of him. And the boy in front of him had to be the only cure, the ice that stood before him so effortlessly.

It would have been so _easy_ to just simple grasp him, to hold him close, to draw the chill from him so that he could no longer burn. Yet his mind screamed at him such a thought was treacherous, that it would only further swallow him. He struggled, thinking to consider the anger he had formerly felt. He tried to remember the reason he was so put off in the first place. Maybe the reason his skin burned so much as well…

Physical, personal boundaries…

He guessed he would have to teach him that.

"Every time you stick your hand down my pants, I'm going to punch you."

Yugi fought back a flinch towards his own incredulousness. He honestly could not truly believe he had even managed to say such words. Violence had never been his forte and he had always been one to shy away from it, never one to instigate. He knew how to defend himself when he needed to, but most of the time he didn’t have the heart to do it in the first place.

The fact that he had even threatened him like this was enough to make him doubt his own words. He tried not to let his inexperience show, however. He had never punched someone before. Unless he counted his panicked attack on the teen in front of him when he had leaped onto his bed like that that night, but even then he hadn’t meant to. So that should not be counted. And besides, right now he was far from feeling panicked.

He wasn’t even truly mad. He was flustered and trying to find some kind of patience to work with. This was just ridiculous in all actuality. He was getting a little worried because how could he not know what boundaries were and how to work around them? How was it possible to make it through life like that? How could you make it through life with such _blindness_?

Surely someone would have lashed out if he had gotten into their personal space as he was doing with the smaller teen. Someone like Ushio or Joey or Tristan would have knocked him off his feet by now. Probably he would be a bloodied mess by now if he had ever encountered them in the same manner he had Yugi.

Of course, Yugi just had never been someone to hit another person. His pacifistic nature made it hard to even think the idea through without feeling squeamish. He wanted to squirm away from him altogether.

But…but someone should have done this by now…right?

He found it impossible to believe that someone would never have done such a thing.

Even with the strength and danger that came from the other boy in waves like cold ice and winter, like glaciers in the ocean, it was impossible. It was just improbable for him to get away with such things if it regarded someone else.

And unscathed? That was so far from possible that the very notion was nearly laughable. There was no way he could just get away with it…

The boy in front of him blinked, staring for a moment, and then he shifted forward. Yugi's eyes widened drastically, blinking in shock at the proximity. And then he felt his hand dig into his jeans, caught the smirk that glimmered in his darkened eyes.

Worry crept through him like fog. Was he supposed to hit him? Really hit him? He couldn't shake off the trepidation that came with just the thought but if he didn't, that just gave the other boy room to keep pushing at him.

His resolve shook violently even as he pulled his hand back and clipped him across the cheek. He fought back a tremor and the red eyes narrowed, staring at him as his flesh started darkening with a bruise across his cheekbone. Yugi blinked, unsure, and realized with a small bit of discomfort that he shouldn't have been bruising so quickly.

But the hand moved in his pants, stroking, and the smaller boy let out a startled squeak before swallowing back a loud moan and glaring in annoyance.

Despite the nasty bruise that was beginning to form, it was pretty obvious he had done nothing to actually hurt him. The smaller teen wanted to bang his head against a wall now.

"Are you serious right now? _Stop_ that!" he snapped, flustered and feeling his head swim for a second with excitement and euphoria that wasn't natural, bred deep in his soul somewhere where he couldn't quite grasp it. "I'll punch you again."

"You hit like a child," the other drawled, rolling his eyes with a wide smirk. The words hit him with such relief that it stunned him momentarily before they truly connected with him. "It's rather entertaining."

Yugi flushed impossibly red, scowling angrily and shaking his head. "Just let go already," he grumbled, reaching for his arm and then shivering with an annoyed look at the other boy. He was smirking widely, lips pulled up into a devilish curve of pure amusement and mockery. "By the gods, do you know what personal space is? Stop already!"

"You know, you keep saying that and yet you have done nothing to actually  _make_  me stop, Yugi."

"You keep…ooh… _Doing that_! It's distracting!"

"Or you are not nearly as serious about me stopping as you have attempted to convey." He pulled his hand but, to Yugi's humiliated relief, did not move out of his grip, allowing his hand to stay rested on his shoulder. The smaller teen would have fallen backwards if not for the wall against his back, feeling suddenly confused and distinctly disoriented. It was almost like the world was spinning around him, faster than he could grasp, like he was underwater. His cheeks flushed completely, feeling disconnected and tired with the sensation. "Have fun with the whore."

His eyes stretched wide, startled by the statement and trying to gather some footing again. The red eyes were glaring disdainfully as he slipped out of his grip and started backing up. "Serenity is not a"—he watched the other boy snort and then step back  _into_ the wall—"w— _what the fuck_?"

The teen pressed his palms against the wall, searching but only hearing laughter in the back of his head. He pulled away from the painted brick after a long minute, reaching up to chew on his thumbnail with a small bit of dread. Had he done something to Serenity? Or was he merely trying—and _very clearly_ succeeding—to mess with his head?

Neither choice seemed out of the realm of possibility to him. Odds were that he was messing with him but he couldn't shake the thought he could have—and perhaps _would have_ —harmed the brunette. She was going blind, small, timid and so naïve that it bordered pathetic at times. But she was also sweet and oftentimes she could actually seem smart. It was rare but it happened…

Yugi shook his head and winced, snatching his finger away when he tasted blood. He didn't think that Joey would still be inside the room if something had happened to his sister. He would have been running around getting help and trying to save her.

In fact, more likely, he would have thrown himself in between them in the meantime and gotten himself incredibly hurt. Joey was selfless when it came to his little sister and any who he truly felt a sense of loyalty towards. He had proven such a trait multiple times, often so outright with the display that it could overwhelm them quite easily.

The small teen glanced around uncertainly, feeling as if the one time he didn't look, the other would appear behind him. He wandered slowly down the hall, skin crawling with the idea that he was nearby though he couldn't see him. But he couldn't feel him either and the idea that he could disappear but still watch him like this made his stomach twist violently.

It shouldn't have surprised him, however, because he knew from the incident at the arcade that it was possible. He had, after all, seen all of his friends and everyone around him, but none of them had noticed the red-eyed teen or himself. None of them had seen them on the floor, or heard the stool when it hit the ground.

He wondered vaguely what would have happened if they had been able to. He thought maybe Joey would have started laughing or gone after the other teen. But then…maybe not. It was possible that he would have simply felt his aura as it pulsed like a drop within the temperature and felt frozen in place. In all reality Yugi himself considered that he would have done the same.

He did not think for even a second that he would have had the courage to go up against him. And if that boy had turned those haunting, vivid red eyes on him, he would have flinched away. That gaze alone would have been enough to make him falter.

Yugi closed his eyes for a moment. He breathed in deeply, then stepped through the doorway. Joey's voice hit his ears right before the smell of bento and fresh white rice made him glance at the tray in front of the brunette. He stared at the meal for a moment and then looked to the thin girl behind it.

Serenity was a little smaller than he would have guessed, almost as if she had lost weight rather than gained it. She was a few days short of hitting her fifteenth birthday, with long auburn-brown hair and hazel eyes that looked gray at times. He guessed that was more of the disease inside of her, causing her to grow blind, rather than the actual color, but it was there. Little specks of gray bordered her pupils at times, and her pupils had a cloudy aspect to them, almost bluish at times when the lights hit them right.

He wasn't entirely sure what her condition was. Joey refused to actually tell him, deeming it something taboo among the group of them. And he was extremely keen about not allowing Tristan to even know that she existed in the first place. Yugi didn't know if that was because she was his sister and he was being extremely overprotective or if it was because he thought for sure Tristan would have a thing for her.

He himself had run across her by accident. He'd followed Joey after school one day when he noticed how weird he had been acting. He had also noticed the massive teddy bear he had been lugging around in his backpack and a small part of him had been ready to congratulate him on getting a date. If he hadn't been so focused on Joey, he wouldn't have run into a boy who threatened to slit his throat and Joey wouldn't have gotten into the fight that he had. And then Yugi wouldn't have met Serenity when Joey sighed and said he was running late and they had to hurry.

Back then Serenity had been just as small as she was now but her eyes had been clearer. Yugi hadn't commented on it before and he didn't do that now, instead chewing his cheek as he wandered forward a few steps into the room. When he had met her, he recognized that puppy-love look in her eyes from the expression that Joey had given her nurse.

The woman had disregarded it easily, teasing him gently but making it clear she wasn't interested, but the expression on both siblings' faces had been nearly identical. Yugi hadn't let her down as bluntly as the nurse but Joey had made a rather avid attempt at bringing up Tea every chance he got when he noticed Serenity making eyes at him.

The smaller teen hardly cared that she had a puppy crush or that he became the center of her world when he was around, instead trying to make it easier for her with friendliness. It wasn't the best technique when it came down to it and he felt like he was leading her on more often than not, but most of the time he could see that she understood.

"Yugi!"

The small boy forced a wide smile onto his face, hoping vaguely that it reached his eyes, and wandered further into the room. "Hi, Serenity," he murmured, glancing at Joey sideways for a second to see the blond beaming.

Obviously he hadn't told her he was going to be there and had been waiting for his appearance. Yugi snorted, smiling a little easier, and wandered over to the bed where she was pushing the tray away and holding her arms open for him.

He embraced her, feeling a dull ache somewhere in the back of his mind at the contact. He felt too hot and clammy, his flesh burning, and he knew without thought that for whatever reason he longed for the other boy, for the chill of his skin. He wished to brush their hands or just bask in that cold aura he exerted. He wanted something to take the heat from his skin, to dull some of the fire, and it was nothing that the girl could do for him.

"How have you been?" he asked, ignoring the way his stomach twisted at the flash of strawberry and coconut shampoo that she had used in her hair. The long red-brown strands tickled his nose and touched his cheeks with a hint of coolness that made him fight off a flinch.

The room was suddenly too warm and it felt almost suffocating to try breathing, the window too small to even observe the earth below. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to fight off some of the heaviness that suddenly weighed down his limbs and made his head spin.

"Good," she replied, finally releasing him and allowing him to step back once. The light danced in front of his eyes for a split second, the white walls making him feel sick. Everything just had to be so sterile, so clean, immaculate—it was too much like his own room aside from the broken color they sported.

He longed for sky blue for a moment, for his golden-yellow comforter and the plush indigo carpet. The hospital always made him feel sick, like he needed to get away, to run. He had never been sure if it was because of his own time spent in it at one point or if it was because of the many times his grandpa had ended up there.

Joey leaned forward on his stool and glanced at Yugi sideways for a second before turning to his sister once more. The smaller teen didn't have to think about it to know for a fact that he would not bring up her condition. "Am I the best big brother ever or what?" he demanded teasingly, glancing at Yugi and winking playfully.

The smaller boy snorted and rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. A chill crept over his spine, almost as if looking for acknowledgment but not caring enough to bug him further as it dissipated almost immediately. He wasn't there when Yugi took a swift glance around with his eyes, ignoring the urge to start turning his head and looking everywhere surrounding them.

"The very best," Serenity declared, making the smaller teen wonder if maybe she sometimes acted the way she did to humor her brother. But it was so constant that he had to doubt the idea, instead glancing at the window. A few people were scurrying by on the sidewalks, a couple of cars passing. He thought he heard a dog barking somewhere but it wasn't enough to make him step towards the glass.

He could feel her stare but he wondered vaguely if she could actually see him completely; the thought was unnerving as he locked eyes with her.

Yugi remembered her saying that her eyesight was actually more blurry when something wasn't immediately close. But she had splotches of black and sometimes saw awkward shapes from the way her vision was strained in her left eye. She often called it her "blind side" and refused adamantly to let others into her left field of vision. Sometimes he thought she was scared of it. Other times he thought it was just because it was uncomfortable not being able to see what was going on so close to her.

She apparently had only about twenty-five or thirty degrees of sight but according to the doctors her brain was working overtime to make her feel as if she had all of it. Yugi ignored the thought and glanced out the window again curiously. A little girl was running after two boys. A mom was handing her daughter an ice cream cone.

His spine tensed beneath his skin suddenly as his eyes finally caught sight of him. The red-eyed demon was actually far higher up than he had originally thought when he had lowered his eyes to the streets. No, he was sitting on the roof across from the hospital, attention on the streets as well, head tilted to the side.

The light hit his body at an angle that made his shadow stretch across his clothing almost as if he were wearing black. But the indigo shade was just noticeable at the edges of his frame. The white-button up shirt was cast a deep gray that made him suppress a shiver. His hands resting in his lap seemed a shade darker, barely even affected by the shadow he cast. The tips of his hair looked as if they were glowing, casting a gleam of red atop a deep black star-shaped flame. Yugi blinked once, narrowing his eyes faintly, taking in the way his lightning rod bangs and streaks seemed to absorb and project the light in shallow pools of devastating gold. With his attention cast downward, he couldn't see his eyes but he was suddenly desperate for them. Something inside of him burned with need, his insides twisting and warming, begging for him to look up, to give him a glimpse.

The sharp lines of his jaw looked more defined than ever with his hunched position. His jacket's softer design gave them distinction that made him swallow hard for a split second. His lashes looked longer, his cheekbones a little higher, or maybe just sharper with the angle.

 _Come on, come on_ … _look up_ …

He chewed his cheek until it bled, feeling fresh pain that dulled some of the hollow desire that was burning inside of him.  _Look up_ … _lift your head a little_ … _just a little_ …

The boy seemed to hear him because his head turned but he didn't raise it, still focused on something on the streets below. Yugi nearly snarled in frustration, wishing he could project the emotion towards the other boy and breathing hard through his nose once.

He wasn't reacting at all—what was that he had said about being able to hear him no matter where he was? Was that bullshit or was he just ignoring him?

"Uh, Yug, what's up?"

Yugi didn't look away from the window, ignoring the urge to turn his head and see the worried expression on his friend's face. No, if he looked away, the boy would be gone. He could feel it. It was an absolution that burned in the pit of his stomach as he stared at him. The moment he turned away for even a second, the boy would be gone.

"Nothing. Just watching some kids playing in the street…" he muttered somewhat dismissively, extremely distracted.  _Look up_!

 _Look up_.

_Look up._

_Look up._

_Look up._

Look—

The boy seemed to finally lose his patience with the repetition, eyelids fluttering for a split second before he raised his head and glowered at him. His eyes were glowing, the pupils nonexistent from the distance. His gaze was almost like a beacon, bright red and burning into his as he froze in place. He thought of hellfire and Christmas lights, so oddly conflicting in comparison but perfect for describing that ethereal gleam.

"Yug," Joey repeated, sounding so extremely confused and concerned that Yugi's head jerked in his direction before he could think to stop himself. The blond's brown eyes were wide as they stared at each other, his lips pulled down into a small frown. "You okay?"

 _No_ , he decided almost immediately, knowing the boy was gone and feeling immediately sick with the idea. "Yeah," he lied smoothly, smiling at him and casting a glance out the window just out of curiosity.

The roof was empty again, a small flicker of deep blue disappearing just as soon as it had appeared in the corner of his eye. He watched it for a moment, checking for more, and then turned back to face the other two occupants.

"I'm fine. I thought I saw something but I guess not," he murmured, shrugging and feeling his mouth grow bitter with the words. How did he even manage to do that? The disappearing act was grating on his nerves.


	4. Chapter IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh
> 
> Update Schedule: Since I’ve already completed and posted this story on ff, I am going to try to update it weekly with the edits around updating on ff as well.
> 
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer’s block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it would be appreciated. Please and thank you.
> 
> Sorry for the lateness. I had a lot of things happen the last couple of weeks so I didn't get as much time to edit as I would have liked. Also, the sickness Yugi mentions in here is Sugoroku's heart condition which fluctuates depending on stress. It's more a background detail, but it will become more important later within this story and definitely within the mini-series.

Chapter IV

Yugi was still awake and waiting long after midnight. His room was basked in the soft yellow glow of his lamp and he was tempted to turn it off just so that he could see the silver moonlight touching the floor next to him. His chemistry notes gave off a sharp glare with the oddly glossy sheen of his paper as he flipped through some loose leaf lectures inside of a couple of folders. He didn't look up, instead reading a passage and repeating it to himself before finally raising his head to look at his visitor. The boy narrowed his eyes as the small teen shifted to sit back on his haunches. His gaze looked sharper than usual, darker with the shadow of his lashes from where his head was tipped slightly downward. He watched him from where he sat surrounded by what seemed like a sea of yellow-tinted shiny white paper marred only by black ink and gray graphite.

"I'm sorry for hitting you earlier."

At first his words were nothing more than a jumbled, dysfunctional noise in his ears. They brought with them only the faintest touches of disassociation. Then, abruptly, his mind cleared and the words took on a meaning within his mind. He faltered, eyes widening, and the puzzlement which swept through him was entirely bewildering to him.

“What?” he asked, voice incredulous in its low mumble of a drawl. He blinked, his irises glittering endlessly in depth with the emotion. He narrowed his gaze after a moment, glanced towards the paper Yugi was writing on. The glare of light reflected there was unusually sharp and he curled his lips back against it.

"I apologized for punching you."

He blinked and shook his head slowly, red eyes flashing with an impossibly more abundant amount of incredulousness clouding his face. His gaze shot to Yugi’s and narrowed into slits as they locked with his as well. The smaller teen fought off a shiver at the darkness that seemed to swim so powerfully in his gaze.

“Why?” he finally snapped, voice lowering to a crisp soft snarl that made him grow rigid as the taller boy’s shoulders rose slightly as if he were offended by the statement. He supposed that stood as testament to just how much the boy really did not understand, how truthful the idea was that neither of them had any sense of common ground to stand on at the moment. How was he supposed to do anything if he had no understanding of him to help him do so?

And what was worse than even that was the fact that the question was not spoken in a sharp tone, nor a cautious or confused one. It was something more along the lines of fear, bordering panic and desperation. His voice had dipped in a way that made it almost as if he struggled to understand, but had no true way of knowing. He did not look to be racked with anxiety, but the cold note came out almost as if his voice were on the very edges of breaking entirely. And Yugi did not have to study him for more than a mere second to realize that his body was tensed with the open intention of fleeing.

“Because you didn’t deserve it,” Yugi finally stated softly. He struggled to hold back his slight horror at the thought of scaring the other as he so blatantly seemed to have. He forced his voice to come out warm and gentle, as almost as if he were attempting to soothe a scared child or a panicked canine.

The comparisons were wrong by all means, terribly so, but there was nothing else he could think of at the moment. And if he acted a certain way, he was sure that the other would flee without a single glance in his direction. It had become a constant fear, unrivaled by anything else he had ever come to know, that maybe this time, when he left, he would not come back.

If he decided never to come back again, Yugi was well aware that would be how it would go. There was no way that he could track him himself by any means.

And with the way he had felt himself respond so desperately upon seeing him seating on the roof of the building across the street from him, he knew without a doubt that he could not survive if he simply vanished in such a way.

Those eyes were as sharp as daggers gleaming with blood, sparkling faintly where the lamplight touched them. The way his muscles were bunched so tightly, his shoulders risen, his spine ramrod, made him look extremely dangerous. He looked like a feral, vicious predator.

Yugi fought back a shiver.

He looked dangerous and cunning and _cornered_.

“You know, I’ve never actually punched anyone before,” he said in an attempt to make himself seem friendly to the other boy. But his voice seemed simply to make him bristle further. “I, um…I don’t fight. I’m a pacifist.”

“I didn’t—what the fuck is a pacifist?”

The smaller teen burst into laughter at the new tone his voice had adopted. Gone was the sharpness, so much like the canines hidden behind his lips, and in its place was a puzzlement of profound proportions, twisted with partial frustration. “It’s a person who believes that war and violence are unjustifiable,” he explained softly, tilting his head.

“That sounds stupid.”

And incredibly boring. What was one meant to do if they did not even enjoy the writhing mess that was war and violence? He could not fathom such a viewpoint. He would rather kill himself then and there than have to suffer such a bewildering standpoint.

Yugi snickered and shook his head at the sharp statement. The arrogance was abundant in his eyes, though the scorn was swelling there as well. He made no move to apology as he stared at him, his eyes burning into his before they flickered away to take in the walls surrounding them. He looked puzzled and searching, as if he were truly trying his hardest to find something that Yugi could not name.

“I guess it could be seen that way by others,” he admitted, smiling and giving him a small look of amusement. The other boy looked more relaxed now, shoulders no longer raised, his tensed spine letting loose the rigidity it had possessed moments before. It was almost as if the last few seconds had never come to pass and the entire idea of his former ferocity were but a mere trick of the eye. “Some people would argue that they’re mostly pacifistic but support violence under certain circumstances.”

He did not spare him a glance, red eyes still searching, but his voice was curious and the smallest bit amused. And Yugi felt that, had he not responded, the other boy would have turned to him, staring and waiting. And it would be the silence of that gaze that would have forced him to respond.

“Are you one of them? Or do you go against _everything_ pertaining to violence?”

His immediate response was to shiver at the purr that ended his question. He was sure that goosebumps had arisen on his arms and it scared him for the smallest of seconds. “I…I don’t know. I think certain circumstances can call for violence if it’s completely unavoidable. But I would never try to hurt someone without reason,” he finally admitted quietly. He frowned, studying the other boy. He wondered vaguely if he had ever truly dirtied his hands with violence. It was obvious that he favored it, as the purr that had carried in his baritone voice indicated without effort. “Most of the time I’m against it but sometimes it’s just…not an option to try being peaceful about something. Sometimes there is no peaceful way to get out of a conflict.”

"So if someone tried to kill you…"

His voice dipped with pure curiosity and intense interest. Yugi found his eyes widening and his heart threatening to skip a beat. But the other boy still did not turn to him, and the intensity of his voice made him shiver. It seemed so out of place that he would be facing a wall instead of him…

But those red eyes were still scouring his room for whatever it was, scanning every which way for what Yugi guessed he had “stolen” from him.

“Are you going to attempt that some time soon?”

The cynical edge, underlined by burning curiosity, made him finally look. His eyes swept from the closet unit to lock with his in the span of a fractured millisecond. He stared at him, cold and unsure, and then narrowed his gaze into slits. “Would you even _try_ to stop me?” he inquired in a low hiss, voice cautious and curious.

“Maybe.” He paused, staring at him. He did not look threatened by the idea. He seemed more quizzical towards the thought that he might rebel against him in any way. And he almost looked amused by the concept of his answer. It seemed more a game to the other boy that he was even answering in the first place. Flustered, he shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve never actually had my life threatened.”

“No? Not even by that mammoth of a boy at your school?” His brow rose slowly as Yugi struggled to place a name to such a description. His eyes sparkled. “The one who claimed that he would protect you from the blond and his brown-haired friend. I believe you consider them both your best friends now…”

It was not the last part of the statement that made him freeze. It was the cruel twist of the words, the way he gazed at him with such laughter. The words were a fog which seeped into his brain and left him dizzy as his eyes stretched wide with alarm. “H-how do you know about Ushio?” he breathed, blinking. His spine was tightening now and his marrow felt as if it had become frozen with shock.

“I know a lot of things. Most of them are about or revolve around you, admittedly, but his sickness is mine,” he stated calmly, smirking and turning away. There was something dangerous and beautiful in the way he said the last four words. Yugi shivered and the other’s eyes combed over his room for a second. Then they snapped abruptly from one corner to the next. For a moment he merely looked between the four of them, then spun on him furiously, lips pulled back, his voice scornful and vicious. “This…this place…This place is tiny. It is…like a little box painted blue.”

The smaller teen did not answer immediately, still puzzling together what that statement about Ushio could have meant. He felt sick to his stomach as he cast the other boy a cautious glance. Did he have something to do with the fact that his “protector” had started to slowly lose his mind in front of his peers at school? Was he the one who had driven his parents to get his brain scanned? Yugi swallowed hard.

Was it possible…?

Was it possible that he had been the source of the tumor that had begun so abruptly to form in the massive teen’s head?

The surgery had removed it as far as he knew. But Ushio still had not shown his face back at school. He did not know if it was shame that kept him away or something else. But he did have the comfort of knowing that he was not dead. He had not appeared in the news or in the paper as deceased.

He drew in a deep breath to address the fierce wave of hatred which lashed out inside of him. The other boy was pushing at him, though he was not sure he did so consciously.

“Yeah, the house isn’t all that big,” he muttered distractedly, blinking and fighting off some of the daze that had settled in his head with the thoughts swarming around in his skull. He hesitated, then searched his face for a moment. The hatred had swelled but was receding slightly as he paid him more mind. “It’s pretty small. I don’t know though, it seems nice enough. Perfect, actually.”

“You do not feel frustrated with such a tiny space?” the boy demanded incredulously. His eyes narrowed into his slits as he turned on him once more, expression furious. This time Yugi felt his rage, his mounting impatience and growing bitterness. When he breathed in a snarl, the temperature dropped as if he had sucked the warmth from the air. The sudden spike of cold made his skin crawl and he felt as if ice had fallen upon his thin form. It stilled abruptly, faltering until it began to harbor the evenness of the wintry night air outside. “This small amount of space—it does not irritate you or anything?”

"I never said that," Yugi argued, frowning at the sharp disgust that plagued his words. He glanced at the window for a split second and then turned back immediately, relieved to find him still standing there, awaiting an explanation with scornful eyes. "I mean, yeah, sometimes I wish I had more room, that the house was bigger, because the business that goes on downstairs in the shop does kind of make for a small amount of paranoia. I kind of find myself worrying that someone will find their way upstairs when Grandpa isn't looking and might try to steal something…but past that not so much. I think it's fine for the most part."

"I don't understand that."

"Well, I'm content with a small home. It's not about the size, anyways. It's safe, it's warm—it keeps the weather out. It does everything a home is supposed to. It fosters a family and has warm memories." He shrugged after a moment, tilting his head as he looked the other boy over. "I've never really been one for the big things anyways. I think it's fine."

"You don't feel as if the walls are closing in?" the boy snarled angrily. His eyes shot around the room again for the briefest of moments. Then they focused on the slope of the roof and he craned his head back slightly as if to follow the complete line of it. Yugi wondered if he had never noticed it before.

“It’s just the slope of the wall that gives that impression. If it wasn’t for that, it wouldn’t seem as small…or confined,” he explained in something of a gentle voice. He glanced at one of his chemistry notes but his mind was racing. After a full minute of staring at a formula he had no care for, he felt as if his head might burst. But he needed something to distract him from the other boy. He had to look away for a moment.

Because something about the way he looked around himself and then at the walls…

It scared him.

He couldn’t understand how he could be so dangerous and yet fear something so small as that.

He drew in a breath and then looked up. His head was spinning and throbbing faintly in his temples. He wondered at the influence the emotional state would have on him now as well. How much of it encroached on his own dazed mind?

He could feel the slight stunned and awkward confusion creeping through him. And he could not tell if that was what caused it either. A long and harsh lashing of self-doubt began to burn its way through his blood. Had he overestimated? What if the other boy influenced him so strongly that he could not bear to be around him for longer than seconds? What if that was why he kept such a distance between them? Was it possible that he already knew things that Yugi himself didn’t?

It did not help the distance he might have to scale in order to reach out to him properly either. Everything about him seemed strange and disconnected to him. If he did not have a basic understanding of certain things, how was he even meant to bridge whatever gap existed between them? Was it even possible?

He had to try. Of that much, he was certain. He had to _try_. There was no other option.

He had admitted already that he felt the same strange and significant pull as the other boy. He had already said he needed him for whatever reason, as primal and strange as it was.

So, then…there had to be at least _some_ kind of common ground between them that he could use, right?

“Your room is like the sky.”

Yugi was unsure of when he had looked away from him. But when he blinked, he was staring at the carpet. He raised his eyes, confused, and glanced at the walls in bewilderment. His mouth opened but the air seemed to thicken with ice and he turned his gaze to find the other watching him.

His voice was low, scornful, and the smaller boy’s expression was curious but his own was anger personified. His tumultuous gaze was brimmed with fire and he shivered, somehow delighted by the sight despite himself.

"The bed is the sun, the desk and that nightstand are rain clouds. The walls are the sky, the little…dresser or whatever over there is a regular cloud. The floor is like when the sun is setting and the closet system over there is dark enough to be the night sky before it turns black."

He blinked, then looked at the walls again. The sky blue shade of the walls in question hurt his eyes in a pleasurable way in direct sunlight. The carpet was colored purple and shimmered silver at times during full moons. The gray of the nightstand and the desk glimmered where the light touched them, making them look almost like stars. The closet unit was darker blue, almost the shade of his uniform jacket. The white case sat alone, the only truly bright surface within the room.

He wondered vaguely just what it was that this boy saw in the confines of his room. Did he see the memories which made up the foundation of the four walls? Did he see the happier moments he had spent in there? Or the despair of the moment he realized he could not pay Ushio off and might end up getting himself killed instead? Did he see the moment he had first watched a porn tape and found himself amazed by it all?

Or did he see only the moments he had spent in there? Did he see his first appearance, dropping from the skylight? Did he see his own frantic glances around the room?

Or, perhaps, was his mind too clouded by his distaste and frustration to see any of it?

“Yeah, I guess so,” he replied absently, shrugging as he looked at him curiously. The other boy was not looking at him but from the corner of his eye. “I never really noticed before.”

"You failed to notice it?" the boy spat coldly, shaking his head even as his eyes flickered around and then very suddenly settled on him. Yugi froze in place, startled, alarmed that he hadn't been given even a moment to prepare for the blaze of burning lava and livid fire. But then he realized his eyes were lower than his face, focused seemingly under his arms from where he had them stretched out to start putting his notes back into one of the folders. "I am surprised you are not telling me you set it all up this way for a particular reason."

"Well, actually, my mom and I set it up. I never really…thought about the arrangements, honestly," he murmured softly, glancing around and struggling to find his line of vision. All he saw was papers, his arms, and he knew neither of those interested him. They would never be something to draw out that deceptively warm purr that had flushed through the air. "It just kind of happened that way."

"The colors never…made you question anything?"

"You haven't seen the rest of the house have you?" he laughed, raising a brow and smiling in amusement. "The hallway is red-violet. Honestly, the fact that room is like this and the walls are this color is not even a question to me."

Yugi glanced from his red eyes to the piles of paper once more. Then he slowly lowered them further downwards, trying in vain to find anything that could have captured his attention so solely. He glanced first at the nightstand and then next to him.

And then, abruptly, as if summoned, his eyes focused upon it. He blinked, startled. The Puzzle; he was staring at the Puzzle. He double-checked that the Puzzle was the thing that held his attention, how it hung around his neck with the thick dark silver chain and the tip lightly pressed into the comforter beneath him. The upside-down pyramid glistened with a beam of light from the lamp, startlingly sharp against the dark yellow-gold of the comforter. He glanced back at him and then the Puzzle, finally bringing his eyes to the other boy's as his hands went to cup the pendant and back of the chain.

"Do you want it?"

The other boy blinked and slowly brought his eyes to his. For a single moment he almost thought he was sightless with the blank glaze which claimed his eyes. Then his lips pulled back into a cruel, smug smirk of amusement. “What?” he hissed, his voice incredulous and dark with skepticism as his eyes took on that of someone peering at a mental patient.

"The Puzzle. Do you want it?"

Yugi was bewildered, frowning, as the other burst out laughing. He tossed his head from side to side, his red eyes glittering cruelly. He studied him, a face of menacing laughter and hatred. The very curve of the wide smirk on his face was enough to speak of his mockery. He was laughing at his naivety. “Are you challenging me to a Shadow Game, Yugi?” he inquired in a tone that could only described as hatefully playful.

“Shadow Game?” he echoed, taking a moment to remember the fact that his grandpa had mentioned the very same more than once. Whenever he had worked on the Puzzle or worn it around him, he had commented on them.

He furrowed his brows. There were few times that the Puzzle was brought up and Shadow Games were denied the subject of conversation. He brushed a finger against the cold, smooth surface. When he was eight, his grandpa had told him that if he ever played a Shadow Game, it would be an experience like nothing else he would ever come across. He had told him it would be like having his heart weighed as if he were dying and passing on into the afterlife.

He blinked and then narrowed his eyes slowly. The idea had always been confused and muddled in his brain growing up. And the way that the boy spoke of it with such abundant amusement and affection made him reconsider. Was he remembering it wrong?

His grandfather had spoken of them as if they were dangerous. He had made them seem dark and _living_ , ready to destroy and wreak havoc on anything around them and the players at any moment. He had said that it would make his most horrid nightmares reality and the value of life clear to a survivor.

He had said so many things about them…

But this boy in front of him…he said it with such perfect nonchalance that it caused his skin to crawl. He could not fight off the realization that the boy was probably just as dangerous as the games were. And perhaps he even lived for them or something…

He made a small scoffing noise, voice scornful as he hissed, "Never mind."

"You can have the Puzzle. I'll give it to you if you want it…"

Red eyes flashed with a million different shades of the color and then his pupils contracted for a split second as their gazed locked once more. Yugi could not help but feel as if he were searching for the trick in his words, boring his way to his soul by mere eye contact. His skin began to prickle further and his marrow felt icy within his bones.

Finally the boy turned away completely. His eyes were on the desk behind him, studying it for a moment. Then he wandered over, reaching for the drawer. The smaller teen watched him as he ran his nails over the plastic, tapping it noisily so that his head spun for a moment.

Then he dragged his nails upon its surface and the screech made Yugi flinch. A hideous alarm wailed with his ears, his body reacting violently. He spun on him, impulsively thinking to snap at him to knock it off. But part of him was frozen, restrained by a realization that he could not possibly understand.

He was waiting for something.

It was as if some deep instinct inside of him was telling him to remain absolutely calm while the others screamed for outright panic. For a moment he didn't know if he should follow the majority or the single speck of deep rooted calm that was lingering beneath his skin. He decided he would figure out which to follow later, when he knew what the other was doing, and watched as the boy pulled out his Duel Monsters deck.

Yugi furrowed his brows slowly. The other remained staring, watching the deck with a studious expression. He leafed through the cards for a moment. Then he ran his nail over a couple of them, his eyes sparkling with something intense and beautiful. Yugi recognized them somehow, his mind supplying their names within seconds, though he could not see them from his position on the bed.

It was as if the boy were sharing their drawings within their minds. It was as if he were flashing their images within their minds’ eyes. But he could not see them. And he could not read the names of them. He felt, instead, the deep rooted affection which came with each of them. And he could weave from his mind which was which from there.

He opened his mouth, prepared to ask him the stupid question of whether he wanted to play or not. And then he felt his body seize with tension. Very slowly the boy weighed them in his hand. He did not drop them nor truly lower his hand. But the way his eyes sparkled and glittered said he felt the importance and he was justifying it within his own mind.

Yugi shivered. An alarm blared through his mind, desperate for his attention. He swallowed hard, drawing in a strained breath. His insides were twisting, burning and writhing with pain.

The other boy turned his head towards him now. His lips twisted upwards into a cruel and hideous smirk that far too long to form. And Yugi’s heart skipped violently as he pocketed them.

“What the hell are you…?”

He couldn't fathom what he wanted with that deck of cards. He hardly thought that he wanted to play with them, not even with that curious gleam he had encountered watching him. Yugi bit back a sharp retort as those eyes burned with laughter and he started to back up.

"Give that back!" he spat, suddenly fearful, lunging just as the other leaped onto the desk, winked at him playfully, and then jumped out the window and disappeared from sight.

 _Son of a bitch_! Yugi thought in a panic, not bothering to look out the window before taking off down the stairs. He stumbled over his shoes where they rested at the door dividing the game shop and the house above, lurching forward but catching himself by some miracle and stopping to throw them on.

The boy was waiting for him at the end of the street as he rushed out and looked around with wild eyes. His red eyes were glittering fiercely even with the distance between them and that smirk only grew wider as he backed up two steps and then turned and raced off. The smaller teen bit his cheek and fought off a snarl before hurrying after him.

Something on his insides twisted and curled, angry and bitter and full of resentment that he didn't recognize. The impact was almost enough to send him stumbling, his lungs feeling weak and his mind feeling suddenly jumbled and fractured.

Something flashed to life inside of him. It was something vaguely akin cold frustration that leaked from his heart and into his veins, fading completely mere moments later.

Yugi thought it was something that the other felt rather than himself, lingering beneath his skin like some kind of disease. His mind rushed with ideas of what it was that the other hated so keenly like this but shook it off to focus on trying to find him.

Something moved in the corner of his vision but he didn't turn towards it, instead running as his gut told him to. The Puzzle burned against his skin, striking his abdomen and searing through his clothing with a fierce heat.

The image of a park, vacant in the dark, painted somewhat silver and bluish with the moonlight and hints of yellow from a streetlight further along, came to mind almost immediately. His feet strained with the speed, the way he was putting far too much weight in one step and not the other.

The trees were thick and lacked leaves, unusually bright in the strips of exposed wood where the bark should have been, having popped and fallen in the newest height of cold that this winter brought with it. The lake had a frosty covering to it that glistened like beautiful glimmering dewdrops in the moonlight, crystallized slightly. His ankle throbbed weakly with pain as he forced another step and focused more on the image burning a place into his mind. The water was moving beneath the lean layer of ice painted white against the darkness, bubbles of air escaping and breaking off some small chips.

Yugi did not have to truly think about it to know where the boy was. His feet were leading him there without conscious thought. The Puzzle’s weight seemed to diminish, the presence of heat beginning to leave him slowly but surely. He wove a way around a couple of apartment complexes and further down the street. The park was just as the boy had shown him moments before.

He sensed him like some kind of gentle layer of clothing touching his skin. It was as soft as a breeze lightly brushing against his flesh. He could not tell, however, if it was warm or cold or just _there_. The night air was frosty enough that he could not concentrate on anything else.

It came to him, a mortifying realization, that he was so underdressed. He flushed with heat, embarrassed but more undone by the weight of the chill the night possessed. His skin was rising in small bumps and his breath felt a little strained as he started to slow somewhat. The air reminded him just how horribly bare he was to the elements safe for the material of the thin shirt and pants he wore.

His skin was growing tighter, the bumps rapidly becoming more abundant. His movements felt slower now, and a puff of white air in front of his face made him shiver as he looked at the crystal-like gleams against the moonlight. Gods, he just had to have the moron steal his deck right in the middle of the night of one of the coldest winters that Domino had ever experienced…

Snow was coming soon enough. They expected at least five or six inches to come through Domino, maybe in a week, maybe two. Most of them hoped that the storms would pass before they could get even half of the expected amount but he half wanted it and half dreaded the idea of it.

Yugi shook the idea off and continued walking, the grass crunching beneath his feet like chips of ice. What was the reason for stealing his deck in the first place? The grass was rough beneath his shoes, frosty and frozen in place from where it was painted unusually light from winter. The ground was far too cold where his sneakers pressed into it and the possibility of stealth was destroyed so completely he couldn't even find it in himself to try to attempt it.

He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad, in all actuality. On one hand, it meant that the other boy couldn't move without him hearing but it also made it hard for him to get to him without him catching onto his location as well. He guessed, just as well, that the boy would have started moving away if he was going to. But he could feel that he was not moving.

He knew this somewhere in the back of his mind. Even as most of his focus was struggling to understand the concept of his theft, he understood the reasoning behind his attempt to lead him along. His gut told him immediately that he was still there. There was a long and lingering taste of frustration and resentment, bitterness and anger, which coated his tongue.

It was warning enough to realize he was still close. The familiarity which crept on him doubled the offer of finding him easily. He was nearby—very nearby.

It was obvious the boy hadn’t meant to steal the deck and keep it forever. He would not have stopped for him to catch up. He had waited at the end of the street and then fled. If he had wished to escape him entirely, he would not have bothered. He would have been gone before Yugi could blink or even fully comprehend what was going on.

In the back of his mind he recognized this but half of him was still wondering about the idea of why he even bothered. Had he meant to lead him out in to the darkness to kill him? He had mentioned Ushio earlier, said that his disease was his. He had asked if he would defend himself if he tried to kill him…

It would be so easy for him. With the way he had made them invisible in the arcade and was able to disappear at his own will, he was easily far too dangerous to dismiss. And he could sense the speed he had, that he could easily kill him.

But he did not think that he would do so—at least not now. There was something completely off about the very idea as it lingered in his head. He did not even think the other boy would truly hurt him. And it made more sense for him to have done something to harm him before now, before he would attempt to kill him…right?

Yugi forced himself to shake the idea off. His teeth dug into his cheek as he scanned the area. The lake should have been coming up soon enough. And then the only real question would be where the boy was truly at. Was he hidden in a tree?

No. Yugi didn’t bother glancing around a second time. He would have seen him by now. There was no foliage to hide his shape in shadows. Then again, he had been able to turn himself into an invisible spectator at the arcade and the hospital as well…

But he felt like he would have _known_ if that was what was happening. He thought maybe he would have felt the same way he had at the hospital when he had suspected he was there though he couldn’t see him. The ground had to be where he was hiding. He had to be among the tree trunks somewhere without actually holding himself out of the smaller boy’s line of sight. He was somewhere in the shadows…

He didn’t bother to try calling out to him, not when he didn’t even have an idea of what his name could be. The thought made him falter slightly. He had kissed and been touched by a guy whose name he didn’t even know. He had been given an _orgasm by a guy he did not know the name of_.

His cheeks flushed and he looked at the ground for a moment before quickly shaking it off. It didn’t matter at the moment. What did matter was that making too much noise or talking too loudly would alert anyone _else_ in the area to his presence. And if that happened…

He shivered. Calling out in the dark, when he was defenseless and all but alone, was a stupid idea. And moving too fast made it more noticeable where he was and which direction he stood in relation to a possible predator. Someone _worse_ than Ushio could be around. They could be waiting somewhere, hiding away before going after him.

He already had the other boy to worry about…

The thought had been brief, but it still begged the question that had been haunting him before. What was it that he meant about Ushio? What did he mean when he said that Ushio’s disease was his own? _Could_ he have actually caused Ushio to grow a tumor?

Yugi shook his head. That wasn’t possible.

There was no way.

There was…

Was it possible?

He blinked and the thought fell from his mind. The boy was standing against one of the trunks, arms crossed. He leaned back against the stripped back, the deck in one hand and single card in the other. The posture alone was enough to make Yugi stop short for a moment.

He could not be sure which was more apparent to him, the fact that the moonlight did not touch him, or if it was the alarms flashing through his mind. He looked intimidating, ready to flay him. If not for the fact he was only holding playing cards in his hands, he might have thought immediately that he planned to do so.

Yugi shook the idea off slowly, taking in the contours of his jaw for a second. Was he going to talk? Would he explain himself? Or was he simply going to watch him?

He raised his eyes but the other’s were shut. The long lines of his lashes were a glossy and beautiful black even within the darkness. He shivered, his heart pounding faintly. The shadows stretched beneath them where they touched his cheekbones. His skin crawled, spine growing tense and his lungs restricted.

And then he noticed something.

The boy wore the same clothes as him, only a shade darker and almost black in the shadows while his face was still too light to be touched by all the darkness. Something was terribly off…

Something was moving and his insides were twisting. His mind was screaming for him to turn tail. He wanted to hide away from the other completely now. It was a primal instinct, the same one which had guided him there. It was the one that had told him to watch him steal the cards. It was the one that told him to stay now.

A voice in the back of his mind laughed in mockery and Yugi blinked slowly. He was face to face with glowing red eyes among a pit of black, distorted and appearing almost to writhe.

It was brighter around the pupils that spilled and twisted like tendrils of mist, but it was dark at the edges, like the black ringlet he had seen while at the hospital. And the whites were gone, completely stripped away and nonexistent. He had no idea if it was because his eyes had grown dilated like a canine's or if the red had taken place of it.

But they were definitely glowing and he became aware of some kind of pressure in the back of his skull, burning and leaning into him. The more their eyes remained locked, the harder it became for him to actually pay attention. It was growing harsher, pressing more firmly, and it was building up in weight, moving to his temple and burning its way towards his eyes, ragged and brutal. By the gods, what the fuck was that?

Yugi squeezed his eyes shut and pressed the heel of his right hand into his temple, pushing harder than necessary for a moment. His pulse jumped beneath his palm, soft but too hot for comfort and growing faster as the seconds ticked by. Pain throbbed and radiated, burning with his pulse, coming with the beat of his heart, and then it leveled out again, like a vague flicker of a flame in the back of his mind.

He drew his eyes open again, then immediately froze, lungs growing tight in his chest. He nearly recoiled, feeling lightheaded for a split second. The other boy was only inches away from him. His body was locked in place as they looked at each other, his spine unusually rigid and straight with tension. What was going on? Was he going to attack him? Would he try to kill him?

Yugi nearly cursed. But the other boy merely blinked at him. If he could turn them invisible, was he capable of turning one of the cards into an actual weapon? Could he somehow use it to slit his throat?

A hand shot out and he almost screamed. He tried to jump back but his body refused to respond. Yet the other boy merely dug his hand into his jeans pocket. The deck fell into place against his leg. He panted, desperate for some kind of way to lessen the tension in his body.

And then, as he looked at him, the other raised his hand again.

And, nestled between his fingers, was his Dark Magician card.

Yugi was frozen in place as the taller boy held it there. The image was clear and precise to his eye, the form of a purple-clad mage rushing forth in the picture. Its attack and defense were the only things obscured by his thumb, and his fingers curled around the edge to the side.

A nail struck lightly at the cardboard. Pain and dread swept through him, his chest tightening further. His eyes shot away from the picture to the other boy’s gaze. A silent plea danced in his eyes, begging him for information. His heart began to skip and twist. There was nothing there…

There was not an ounce of malice or a crumb of curiosity. There was not a twinge of bitterness or the slightest hint of confusion.

Yugi had never seen someone’s face, someone’s _eyes_ , so blank and lifeless.

The hand holding the card pressed into his chest, against his heart. The smaller teen gasped painfully, nearly buckling beneath the fresh pulsating ache which came through his ribs. His breathing constricted violently, his eyes burning with the pressure of it all, and he struggled to regain control of his legs. He needed to step back. He needed to find a way to make himself step back.

If he could do that, maybe the other boy wouldn’t kill him.

Maybe the pain wouldn’t destroy him.

A tremor surged through him. His heart twisted. He was staring at the boy but his peripheral was flooded with his surroundings. His eyes grew wide, petrified. His spine locked in place. His heart skipped. His lungs contracted again. He choked on a breath.

The landscape had faded away into nothingness. All around them was darkness. It twisted and writhed and shifted and danced. The blackness was so dense, it was like an ocean of ink. The cold pale light from the moon, as strained and weak as it was, had ceased existence. Lightning shot through the air, crackling and hissing. It was the shade of blood and dark blue-violet. The rods gathered around them and bruised the darkness around them, making it look like masses of dark gray clouds.

His lungs strained. Each breath became a hideous chore. His heart was throbbing within his chest. He could feel each pulse like someone hitting a nail next to his head. Each flash became rapidly blinding, then seemed to surge away.

He could hear dull roars of energy, power. There were crackles and flares of light, passing bursts of red and blue-violet.

Yugi nearly groaned in despair. When he breathed out, the tension in his throat tightened. His skin felt as if it were being pressed upon with cold fingers. He could feel claws threatening to shred his skin. His eyes were on the other boy, desperate to convey some of this to him. He was the one hurting him, right? He could make it stop.

Yet the boy merely tilted his head and watched him expressionlessly.

It sounded like lightning striking a tree. He flinched and nearly fell backwards. His body was assaulted with pain from the sudden movement. He whimpered. The noise was so keen and fresh, the popping of wood and the crackle of lightning bursting into flame. He wanted to grab at his skull.

What the hell was going on?

He was wheezing when he breathed again. He hissed outwards and the pain flared brilliantly. Then he looked up again.

The other’s eyes were glowing around the pupils’ outer edges. The red was mingling with the black now, wisps of bloodied smoke that swirled endlessly. It formed a distorted circular shape, the colors blurring around the edges like mixed paint.

The spiral sent his head hammering harder as he rasped softly. The layer of black over scarlet looked alive and dead all at once. It twisted and yet remained still all at once. The other boy’s smirk grew a little wider. He could not tell if it was the deep ruby shade moving or something else.

But something was.

It was constantly writhing and screaming beneath his corneas.

This time the boy’s lips twitched. Yugi could barely see it from where he was staring so blatantly at his eyes. He backed up a single step, eyes seeming to glow further with satisfied amusement.

Something about the movement and the intensity of the boy pushed away the pain. His very existence seemed to somehow mollify his desperation slightly. When he stepped back a second time, it seemed almost as if all of the ache in his head and chest had eased into a slight sting.

The card was flashed at him, highlighted when a burst of red and blinding blue-violet stroked at the air. Yugi blinked at it, breathing a little more calmly. He wanted to open his mouth, but his lips seemed almost to be sewn shut. He frowned, puzzled, and tilted his head when he found no other way to convey his confusion.

His teeth were like daggers.

His lips twisted more brilliantly.

His eyes glowed like coals.

The card was turned around again.

Yugi blinked and tried to take a step forward, further confused.

Then he nearly screamed.

He didn’t even look down as he tore it in half.

The smaller teen was frozen, eyes wide and horrified. He stared as the two halves fluttered to the ground. His heart was gripped with a great and terrible pain which started at the center and then slowly began to splinter downwards like chipped glass.

It broke and shattered completely with a small wail. The noise made his ears sting and his eyes burned as his lungs constricted. His body felt too heavy and he nearly fell backwards. The card looked like nothing more than a pretty drawing dropped by a child.

He was gasping, groaning with each breath.

His eyes flickered back to the boy. His heart was stuttering in its pulse. But the sight of him made it beat faster, gathering momentum. His mind was splintered, fractured with disbelief and a burning of which he had no name for.

The boy had just torn his Dark Magician card in half.

The card that meant the most to him was nothing but a toy to him.

A flash of brilliant pain surged through him. And he launched himself. The two of them hit the ground. The taller teen was howling with laughter. Yugi wrapped his hands around his throat to silence the noise. The squeezed and the vibrations beneath his palms enraged him more. His shoulders shook.

A noise left him, perhaps a burst of pain and fury, but he could not hear it himself. The boy, however, burst into further laughter at the sound of it. Adrenaline and anger pushed away the pain. He squeezed harder, his head throbbing dully in a rhythm he did not recognize.

The other writhed, unable to contain his joy. Yugi squeezed harder still. The vibration sent a soft tremor through him once more. The laughter was strangled now, ragged, and broke around the edges, but somehow it continued.

It _swelled_.

It came to a crescendo.

And somehow it kept rising.

He nearly screamed. It wouldn’t stop. It wouldn’t _fucking stop_.

He was struggling not to burst into tears. His Dark Magician card was…

His anger came to a crescendo with his laughter. He squeezed, eyes wild, breathing ragged. His vision was growing somewhat blurred in his peripheral. But the laughter didn’t stop so the squeezing grew more defined.

The noise was growing strained at its very core now, however. His throat was beginning to burn. The boy beneath him, red eyes alight, was struggling to draw in breath now. But the situation was still hilarious. He could not help but want to laugh more.

Then the squeezing began to falter. Those bright blue-violet eyes were swelling with panic. His own were still dancing with amusement. Yugi released him, sputtering for breath. Then he practically threw himself backwards.

He rapidly backpedaled, the frozen blades of grass crunching beneath him. His breathing was ragged and his hands reached for his throat. He rubbed at it, but the skin felt raw and sore. Yet there was no bruising. And the ache was centered further beneath his flesh than outwards.

He brushed it aside. Then he shot forward to grab his card, the two pieces staring up at him. He breathed hard, shaking. His brain was so overloaded with his panic that he had not realized before. They were no longer in that dark place. They were back in the park. The shadows couldn’t destroy them like he had imagined before.

He moved his hand, touching at the grass for a moment. It was hard, prickling against his skin. It burned gently, itching, and the coldness calmed some of the heat in his body.

He looked down at the pieces again. They were cold and unfamiliar to him, braced beneath his fingertips. He swallowed thickly. His hands shook. The picture itself, the attack and defense…

Oh _gods_ …

He trembled. The other boy was laughing again. It sounded too close for comfort. There was a shifting noise. Yugi could sense, at the very least, that the boy was moving. When his sneaker brushed against his side, he nearly wailed. He scrambled away, holding the two pieces firmly in his hands.

But the image hadn’t changed and he wanted to sob.

Oh gods…

"Why is it so special to you?"

Yugi paused. His eyes did not lift from the destroyed card. But he could feel his gaze, cool and analyzing. Had he missed the mockery in his tone? Had he missed the amusement?

His mind coiled around those words. A sense of bewilderment came over him. He blinked wide eyes. His mouth opened and closed once. He drew the card closer to his chest. A tear trailed down his cheek.

"My grandpa…This was the first card that I ever got. He gave it to me so I could form my first deck," he mumbled brokenly, blinking at the tears and feeling as disconnected as the torn halves. "He's extremely sick right now and I…He…"

There was a callous snort. The noise made Yugi jump slightly. Then came another, long, hideous burst of laughter. Yugi curled his lip at the noise. It burned inside of his marrow and made his head pound. He spun on him.

The deep baritone pitch, buried in his throat and full of mockery, made his heart pound faster.

He dropped the card. The red eyes were glowing. The amusement made his blood boil. Yugi punched him hard enough to make his head snap around.

When he hit the ground, Yugi launched himself onto him. He straddled him. He caught his shirt and bunched it around his hand. The other boy choked on a chuckle. But his smirk was brilliant. And his teeth were daggers.

Yugi punched him again. It was more violent than the first. The other snarled faintly. Then he laughed again. He tightened his grip, pulled him closer. This punch made him gag. He could _smell_ the blood, like burning flesh. It spurted and covered his cheek in backlash.

Yet somehow the laughter _went on_ …

He could never be sure how long he stayed there punching him. But he only stopped when he was too tired to go on anymore. His hand was swollen and his knuckles had busted. His mouth was fuzzy with the feeling of his jaw being clenched for so long. His eyes felt swollen. He hadn’t even realized he’d been crying around it all. He did not know if it was the pain from each punch, his cheeks feeling swollen and bruised, or just his split knuckles.

But he had never been a fighter in the first place.

So it thought, despite the dizziness and the pain, that it had to have been at the most, ten minutes. It could have been far less as well.

When Yugi looked down again, the boy was curled on his side. His hands covered his face. He could hear him breathing. And it sounded dreadful.

Every breath was like a faucet sputtering water that refused to come through. Yugi did not look at him for longer than it took to get his balance.

He touched his face, wiped at his nose. But there was no blood. Still, his own breathing was tortured and wheezing. And when he looked at his fingers they were drenched on the other side. His knuckles stung. He wiped them on his shirt, then lifted them to his mouth.

He would need to put some neosporin on or something. He doubted they would really need bandaging, though.

He didn’t look at the boy again. His teeth felt loose in his mouth, but when he touched them, they were still just as strong as always. He turned on his heel. He needed to go home, take a shower, eat, and go to sleep.

* * *

 

He woke to a sound that he should never have heard.

His eyes snapped opened in the dark. There was an unwelcome shape sitting in his chair, directly in his vision. The lean shadow across the floor caught his attention more than the person who made it, however. It looked somehow more powerful, more imposing, than even its owner.

The chill in the air argued that idea sharply. The coils of energy bit at the back of his mind like a blanket of frost. He was abruptly aware of the realization that the assessment was absolutely wrong.

But the more Yugi stared at the darkness that made up that lanky ridiculously stretched out form across his floor the more he couldn't shake that idea. It was too long, drawn out until it stretched almost to his wall, and that demanded his attention for more than the boy that made it. It was dark to the point that it seemed almost bottomless in depth and hurt his eyes as he tried to even find the carpet fibers that should have been hidden in it. It was so dark. And it was shaped so…oddly.

Yugi stared at the blackness on his floor for a long moment.

Why the hell did a shadow cast yet another shadow?

How was it even possible that it could do so?

Yugi blinked and then dragged his gaze along the walls. If he could simply brace himself, perhaps the conversation that might follow would not make him want to kill the other boy. But when he looked at the other boy, his blood heated and his heart raced. He curled his lips back, scoffing furiously, and then pulled the sheets up further as he closed his eyes.

It was not worth it.

It would never _be_ worth it.

He was exhausted and worn out. And he had finally gotten the cuts on his hand to look more or less nonexistent. If someone asked, he would be able to say it was dried skin.

He was over it.

He did not care to even try so much as looking at the other boy anymore.

The rustle of clothing caught his attention. But it still was not enough to make him open his eyes. He ignored him. He was sure the other boy wouldn’t care whether he looked at him or not. He would do what he wanted, destroy as much as he cared to, then leave him alone to deal with it.

He snorted when the other began to speak. His voice was proof enough. It came out quiet and strained, but deep and regal as always.

“Why does his sickness hurt you so much?”

Yugi nearly spat at him. But instead he focused on trying to smother the irritation that flared up. He had no right to speak. If he could not show some kind of remorse or regret, then he did not have any right.

It was like the bastard had no soul.

And now he had the _audacity_ to show up wanting to make some kind of pathetic attempt at conversation with him?

"Speak to me," he snapped angrily. "Why does his sickness hurt you so much?"

Yugi ignored him again.

For a split second the room was silent.

Then he heard it.

The chair creaked slightly.

A pressure touched the carpet fibers.

He was moving forward.

Yugi only realized this a millisecond before he was grabbed. He lashed out blindly. And he spat and twisted to get out of his grip, horrified. Would he return the beating? What if he didn’t stop? What if he never grew tired enough to? What if he killed him?

A hand roughly shoved him back into the mattress with a firm grip on his shoulder. Pain lanced through his limb. The bone seemed to creak in protest. It occurred to him that he could break his shoulder if he moved again.

His breathing was ragged as he opened his eyes. A pair of furious red stared back at him. Yugi felt his face twist into a scowl. He glowered back. It felt as if someone had just stabbed him in the gut.

The taller boy stared back at him with a gaze that he could not truly read, let alone see. And the smaller boy felt his stomach tighten with confusion before his blood heated again.

He bit away a scoff. What had happened to those glowing eyes he had sported so constantly before?

Stupid fucker that he was.

"Tell me. Explain to me why it hurts you so much!"

Yugi shoved at him. But it was hard to dislodge him because of the position. And the pain which coursed through his shoulder made him second guess. With the force of his next shove, if the boy pressed him harder into the mattress, his shoulder would most likely shatter.

He bit his lip. The other curled his lips back faintly to display a canine. It looked like the tip of a sword or some distant snow-capped mountain. It was jagged and hideous and glinted unnaturally in the low light.

Yugi twisted under the blankets. He kicked the sheets away, then pressed his feet into his stomach. If he broke his shoulder, then he could at least give the other one something to think about.

Yet the other boy looked painstakingly unimpressed. If it were a cartoon, he surely would have yawned with his free hand covering his mouth. A small surge of humiliation nipped at Yugi’s insides. When he tried to push at him, the taller boy did not budge in the slightest.

Despite the force he exerted, the other did not even blink. His bored expression grew tenfold. And, slowly, his brow arched in dismissal. His entire face had become a campaign of “Is this really what you want to do right now?”

Yugi had lost most of the urge to fight with him now. Something childish and curious had come over him in the midst of his face changing. And so he wriggled, pushing at his stomach harder until his spine grew tight with tension and his body felt weak with the pain that came from it.

He could feel muscles packed tightly beneath his flesh, hardened and somehow almost as dangerous as his very presence altogether. They tightened and coiled and moved beneath the clothing barrier between their skin. It was almost hard enough for him to mistake it as rock or marble.

But there was heat there, against his socks and shirt. There was actual body heat.

Yugi blinked. There was a semblance of it, something that should have always _been_. It was body warmth that he had been so sorely lacking before—

“Tell me,” he snarled viciously. The smaller teen startled slightly. His eyes grew wide and confused for a split second. Then he hissed as the other boy moved his hand. His nails were like cat claws, digging into his flesh with enough force to both bruise and break skin. He hissed and squirmed, then nearly screamed when the pressure built on his legs. “Explain it to me!”

In a panic, he tried again to throw him off. But this time his shoulder wrenched and he gasped out a shredded breath. He kicked at him and the pressure tightened. Even if he didn’t completely break it from his own thrashing, he’d shatter it with his hand.

Yugi fought away a flinch. Reality had set in that he could not move him whatsoever. The other boy would kill him first. Yet, his weight distribution changed. At first he thought to try to use it to his advantage. But then he could no longer move.

His movement had been nothing more than a change of strategy. His legs were bent fully until it felt that they would buckle beneath the strain of being pressed against him. For a split second Yugi could not even breathe. His knees had dug too painfully into his abdomen. His legs tingled and stung. He swore he was bleeding and heard bones cracking. But he could not feel it. And the other boy made no comment as he expected he would have.

"Speak, you little termite," he snarled, peeling his lips back to show off his teeth which glinted even with the lack of light, a force that made itself known without dramatics. "Tell me why it hurts you so much."

He shook his head slowly. It was more bewilderment which held his tongue now. But there was also a stubborn sense of pride as well. If he didn’t answer, the other was clueless. And that would irritate him. It was like he finally had some bit of power over him, even as miniscule as it was.

His shoulder throbbed when his fingers tightened. But it did not break. His palm pressed tighter and firmer. He was pushed more impossibly into the mattress. But he could not sink any lower. The smaller boy almost laughed when he saw the frustration bloom in his eyes as realization struck the other similarly.

"Then shall I find him? Suguroku Motou? Shall I smother him where he sleeps? Shall I find your parents, butcher them while they slumber?"

Yugi stiffened as the blood heated in his veins. He kicked out again. This time it was hard enough to make the other boy grunt. As if in reward, he finally withdrew a couple of steps. The smaller boy was well aware that this _creature_ —because he couldn’t be human; he just couldn’t—had moved of his own will. He had not been strong enough to force him back before. And he had been enraged earlier, though now he was more exasperated with his threats and panicked by the idea of them.

He knew he could withstand quite a few more blows should he have resolved himself to standing there. Yugi nibbled his lip, frustrated as he looked at him. He could never question that. It was a blessing that he had taken pity on him for once, had moved back a couple of steps as if in a gesture of offering peace.

“Do _not_ threaten my family, you piece of shit,” he spat angrily. He swallowed hard, his anger wavering slightly beneath his frosty eyes. He could see a small glittering touch of ice and it made him want to tremble. He was fierce, dangerous, and the darkness was his element. “You don’t _get_ the right to say that kind of crap!”

“Then who does?” he snarled, bristling as if the words had offended him heavily. He seemed almost, for a split second, to fail to comprehend his words in his mounting aggression. Yugi saw his eyes flash brilliantly, a surge of fury flaring in his gut for a split second. The way it burst forth made him squirm but the other failed to notice. His gaze was almost completely colorless but the splash of white light that was as sharp as a dagger. “If not I, then who _does_?”

Yugi blinked in confusion for a split second. The question floored him, stunning him, and he could not think to reply for what felt like hours. Then his blood heated again and his teeth ground together. “ _No one_ gets the right to threaten someone like that,” he sneered, attempting to move his shoulder from his grip to lie on his side again. “And you’re lucky I haven’t called the police on your stupid ass for breaking into my house _again_.”

“Police?” He laughed derisively, then leaned forward slightly. His half-step into his space made Yugi stiffen, spine tingling with confusion. “You expect that the _police_ shall have any such ability to help you where _I_ am concerned? Well, don’t you have such a _beautiful_ little imagination, boy.”

"My  _name_ is  _Yugi_ ," he snapped. "You've sneered it enough to know it."

He had lessened his grip sometime in the conversation. Yugi used it to his advantage, wriggling away just enough to snap the cord of the lamp on his nightstand.

The light that flooded the room made the other boy hiss out a sharp breath. His expression was cold, furious, and when he glanced at the bulb, it looked as if he might launch himself at it. However, it took only a blink or perhaps two, for his gaze to grow less furious and adjust completely. His pupils contracted for only the briefest of seconds, and the sight of it was somehow mesmerizing.

The starburst effect of them had been overshadowed slightly by the darkness. The briefness of the cold moonlight, the gentleness of its touch, had made it all but nonexistent. But, as the harsher artificial yellow glow came upon his gaze, his pupils receded and the usual starburst looked like black tendrils of lightning.

"I do not  _care_ for your name," he hissed out, shaking his head in annoyance. He bore his teeth at him but his pupils seemed to contract further, as if the light were painful. “I want to know why his illness makes you sad. That is what I wish to know. Tell me this.”

"Will you leave?"

"You can't get rid of me that easily."

"No, because apparently—according to  _you_ at least—we need each other."

"You feel it too. If you didn't, you would have argued before at the hospital before you visited your whore."

"Her name is Serenity. She is Joey's little sister. She is  _not_ my whore. She is not  _a_ whore. And she has no bearing on this conversation whatsoever!" he snapped, pausing for a moment before shaking his head. "Will you leave if I tell you what you want to know?"

"I do not understand your question…"

Yugi ground his teeth together. "Don't play stupid. Will you leave me alone for tonight if I answer your stupid question?"

The other boy blinked. "Yes."

The smaller teen breathed in loudly, a rough inhale that made the other’s eyes narrow in response to. Yugi thought he looked increasingly frustrated. But the offensive gleam to his eyes seemed more flustered than anything as it crossed near the center of his irises like a bubble of bright scarlet.

“All right,” he finally managed to breathe from behind his teeth. He was tempted to spit at him, to make him back off again. But he had never managed it before and his shoulder ached in remembrance of his embrace formerly. He shook his head slowly, then raised his eyes to him, studying him. When he spoke again, his voice was underlined with frustration but his mind was more on the task of gauging his reaction. “He is family. I know him better than myself. I grew up with him. I have always known him better than my own parents. I have always been with him more than them. I love him more than anyone else in the entire world.”

The other boy blinked again in a slow pull of motion and then frowned. His head tilted to the side and his eyebrows drew forward. His eyes flashed with something unreadable, the corners of his lids crinkling faintly.

Yugi could not tell what it was he was staring at. His expression was so unlike what he normally displayed. And his eyes looked faintly glassy, his emotions shimmering behind them.

His lids lowered slightly and his lashes cast shadows in small jagged lines when he bowed his head faintly as if in consideration. His jaw ticked. Then it tightened as his lips twitched the tiniest bit as if his frown were begging to deepen before it relaxed back to a simple line.

Yet it was his stance, standing there without seemingly a care in the world, that gave him away.

Yugi shook his head slowly.

He didn't understand.

He didn't understand at all.

Finally the red eyes flickered to look at him through his lashes. A million different questions were implored there, confused and curious. It was nearly enough to make force the air from Yugi’s lungs. But there was not the faintest hint of remorse. There was not the slightest touch of regret.

There was not even a single inkling of apology.

And that was enough to make him scowl again. It was enough to make him remember himself. He might not have been able to wrap his head around the words, but the realization was clear to Yugi himself.

Did the boy have no fucking soul?

He nearly laughed at himself as doubt tugged at his insides.

Was that possible?

Was he a sociopath?

Was it all just a clever little ploy to make him wonder and want to help him?

But then, when he got what he wanted, he would kill him, wouldn’t he?

Yugi nearly snorted under his breath. He could try to manipulate him all he wanted, but the results wouldn’t be like he wanted. Yugi would be _damned_ before he gave him _what he wanted_.

"I answered your question," he finally breathed out, voice coming to him in a hollow tone that made the other blink. "Get out."

The other looked at the glass for a long moment before turning back. "Turn off the lights."

"Why?" he snapped, vicious and growing furious with his refusal to move. "Get out."

"It's easier than climbing through the window. Turn off the lights."

Yugi debated literally attempting to shove him out. He was so truly tempted by such an idea that it was hard to push it away. But then he finally moved to reach back and pull on the switch.

For only a moment the boy remained still. Then he blinked. In the dark his eyes were slivers of glowing streaks of white and silver. Then, as he looked away from him, they began to catch bright red. They glowed hideously, gathering luminosity in the darkness as the shadows grew darker and darker.

The area within the room grew so cold as to freeze his bones. Then he saw the shadows grow into sheer blackness, so thick and defined that the fleece blanket on his bed was a pit of darkness.

A dull thrum of noise almost like a distant roar or the crackle of thunder before a storm hit his ears. Yugi blinked and his eyes opened wide in shock. The room was empty a moment later with the flash of crackling lightning.


	5. Chapter V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh
> 
> Update Schedule: Since I’ve already completed and posted this story on ff, I am going to try to update it weekly with the edits around updating on ff as well.
> 
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer’s block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it would be appreciated. Please and thank you.

Chapter V

Yugi felt sick to his stomach as he started towards the hospital. The small teen cast a glance over his shoulder, chewing his cheek as his mind wandered, unbidden, with the touch of a vague chill upon his skin. He did not think that the boy was anywhere nearby; he hoped fervently so, in fact, and could not find it in him to wish for anything more than simply a cold gust of air touching him. He drew in a deep breath and struggled for a moment to identify it all.

But his head did not hold that accompanying dizziness that seemed to come with the boy. And he did not feel threatened. Alarms were not going off in his head.

It did nothing to stop him from wondering, however.

Was the boy ignoring him now?

It would have been so simple if he could find it somewhere inside of himself to blame it upon the other boy if he were. But, as he considered this thought, he realized he would have preferred that it was _he_ who had the power to ignore him. Then Yugi would never have to acknowledge the boy if he came to him again, could pretend that he hardly existed.

Something ached vaguely in his chest at the thought. But he ignored it in order to consider the thought a little further. Part of him had been so glad to have his absence for the last couple of days. He had not come to see him again since that moment in his room. But now he wondered if he was okay. And more so he felt that familiar pang in his gut that had begun to chew its way through his body at his absence.

He hated it, and the truth was daunting.

He wanted him back.

He wanted that stupid red-eyed bastard back around him.

He sighed through his teeth and reached up to rub at the back of his head. He wondered if he could hear him as he always seemed to. But there was no answer, no matter how long he stalled going further into the hospital.

Yugi felt sick as he looked back further into the building. Standing there, in the middle of the entranceway foyer, he wondered again what repercussions he might bring for doing this. The paranoia in his body told him many times to turn back and head away, to go home again.

It told him the boy was behind him somewhere. It spoke of the potential destruction he might bring should he continue. Yet obligation tore at his insides. He needed to see his grandpa again, especially after his recent heart attack upon coming back. He drew in another deep breath, glanced over his shoulder, and then faced the entrance once more.

Oh gods, he didn't know if he could deal with the look he was sure he would get when Sugoroku realized his Dark Magician card was missing. Yugi nearly turned tail at the very thought. His grandpa had always loved to see how his deck grew or diminished as he evolved new strategies for the game. He had rarely touched his deck more than a few times when it came to editing, sure that the original cards they had gotten together would pull through for him in any situation.

Yugi kept all of the cards, some of them in the box that had come with the Puzzle and the others in no particular order inside his deck or card sleeves he had in his binder. Some of the cards were promotions that he had gotten at events before Sugoroku had gotten sick and he was reluctant to mess with anything pertaining to his original deck or collector's editions. He had a full binder of cards he would never play but that his grandpa had gotten with him that he had put in the sleeves and kept there under his bed.

The Dark Magician had been the first card he had ever gotten and his strongest aside from Summoned Skull, but the demon hardly held as much sentimental value. He had been eight when he was given the card and it had become his trump card, something that he had never lost a duel with. Summoned Skull had come in a booster pack with several other cards that he loved but could never replace the Spellcaster. His grandpa always loved to see it, as if it was some kind of physical manifestation of their family bond, and Yugi was truly struggling with the idea that he had even allowed the other to get his hands on it. Of course he had had no reason to suspect he would tear it to pieces like that, but he couldn't understand how he had missed the intent in his eyes before it had happened.

Now he took painstaking measures to make sure that the other was not around. He searched everywhere for those vibrant red eyes, sure that he would come forth like a wolf hunting its meal. But the minutes passed. And he felt nothing to indicate that he was close by.

He had said that he heard his thoughts. He had seemingly proven it several times. So Yugi failed to understand why it was that he did not appear to simply sneer at him or annoy him like the inconvenience he seemed so keen upon becoming. The thought made him bristle faintly. As far as Yugi concerned, that was something the other boy would _absolutely love_ doing. So why was it that now he did not take up a chance to do so?

He nearly scoffed at himself. He had been waiting and wasting enough time. The boy was not coming. He drew in a deep breath but could not erase the scowl on his face as he walked towards the automatic doors. When they slid open, only then did he smile faintly at the young intern who looked up and gave him a similar look.

"He's on the second floor, room eighty-six."

"Thank you." He had the vague idea to bow to her, the instinct impulsive and strong for the briefest of seconds. Then he shook it off, as he had other times.

They were far too familiar with each other. She recognized his face from how often he visited. His grandpa's heart seemed to fluctuate so often he was amazed they hadn't met sooner. She knew exactly where he was headed and who he needed to see. She nodded to him, but it was absentminded in gesture, and he turned away to wander for the elevator.

Half of him was gripped with a crippling paralysis which grew and expanded within his marrow. If he turned back now, maybe he could flee and the other boy would never know he had even gotten so close to his grandpa in the first place. His stomach twisted and churned and the bile rose in the back of his throat as he slammed his finger into the button.

What kind of tricks did the boy really know?

Was it possible for him to see what Yugi saw?

Could he hear what he did?

He could disappear and reappear at will. He could drag him into that terrible place of such darkness…

Yugi shivered and his heart skipped a beat. There was so much more that boy was capable of. He felt it every time they interacted. And he knew the other had barely scraped the surface of showing him the knowledge he knew and had shared with him.

What if this were all but some kind of game for the other boy?

What if it was a trap and he needed him to lead him to his grandpa unintentionally?

What if all it took was for him to enter the room for the other to appear?

Would he kill him?

Would he kill his grandpa?

He struggled to think straight for a moment.

But he did not think that the boy would truly care for such an elaborate plan. He seemed rather impulsive at times. And his tongue had no sheath for its sharp dagger-like jabs. But then, perhaps this was so effortless a plan that he was overlooking the simplicity in his mounting fear?

But he still could not feel him.

And if he could not feel him…didn't that mean he would not come?

He glanced around and then at the numbers on the elevator. It was still two floors higher. He sighed softly. The other boy would probably enjoy the task of toying with him so efficiently. He thought that he would have relished in the way of allowing him to sense him nearby. He would see him tense up and laugh at him…

Yugi would have tried fighting him away tooth and nail. The other boy knew that as well. There was no question of how real the thought of his threat truly was. He had busted his knuckles on his face in the park and broken his own pacifistic nature in doing so. They were both well aware that he would attack him again if he had to.

Maybe the boy did not care to suffer through that again. Or perhaps he was waiting for his guard to fall and slip away. Then perhaps he would leap and attack him full force. Yugi shivered violently at the idea and nearly cringed when one of the nurses glanced at him from the end of the aisle.

His grandpa was weak. But he was not invalid. He probably could manage to hold the boy off on his own at some rate. Or, at least, he might have been able to if he wasn't so full of surprises. The thought made him frown as he considered; perhaps even then he could hold him off. He had played and challenged others to Shadow Games, or so he had told him growing up.

But what was the consequence of playing one? What was there to lose if they were to challenge each other?

Yugi hated to admit it, but his chest ached even more at the thought of the other boy being hurt by such a decision. He remembered vaguely that each punishment was painful, brutal and horrific beyond measure. Sometimes it was mental torture, sometimes physical. Sometimes it rested between.

His fingers were shaking as he managed to force himself to step into the elevator. Thankfully no one was in there. He was not sure he could deal with someone else standing in such a confined space with him at the moment.

As big a pain as the boy made himself, he could not justify being the reason behind his punishment. And, what happened if he got hurt beyond repair? What if he lost his mind? It seemed oddly fragile as it was.

He stopped outside the door. He thanked each god he could think of that the bed faced the other wall. He was not in his line of sight yet. He drew in a deep breath, closing his eyes, and sighed softly as he shook his head. A small tremble threatened to overcome him.

His fingers shook gently as he glanced back at the elevator he had just used so mindlessly. He could use it to get back down there. He could tell them, if they bothered to ask, that he was still asleep. He could lie that he didn't want to wake him.

He could _flee_.

Yugi rolled his eyes towards the ceiling at his own cowardice. The tiles were the very fabric of existence and everything important in life for a single split second. The familiar sight of white paint across the porous surface and fluorescent lights bursting in his pupils calmed him slightly. He shook the urge away but another thought occurred to him all the same.

Was it possible the boy was already there? What if he had snuck in and out already as it was?

He had threatened his life, after all. He had done the same with his parents. And it would not have surprised him in the least to find that he had always known of his place inside the hospital.

Maybe his desire to flee was not because of the potential attack. Perhaps it was from the promise of the carnage to greet him should he have gone inside of that room formerly.

He swallowed hard, trying to wrap his mind around the thought. A flicker of pure rage, of burning hatred, surged through his gut for a moment. The bastard had better not have come here.

 _Do you hear me_? Yugi spat mentally. The reaction was instantaneous. A flash of ice so cold it nearly crippled him swept upon his mind. He panted at the touch of it, the sensation of his thoughts swelling too large within his head. He nearly whined and backed up, startled by the touch. But then it eased slightly, somehow, and he got the vaguest idea that this boy was more curious than anything.

Something stirred within his mind, dark and wispy, like fire smoke against the paleness of a chilly winter moon. He trembled slightly, horrified at his own realization.

The boy had responded.

He had bridged some immense gap between them somehow.

And now he was waiting.

He was waiting for him to speak to him further.

He could feel him. He was cold but not frigid. And his tension was his own rather than the boy's. Yugi swallowed hard and glanced down the hall slightly.

He was listening. He was willing to wait for him to speak again.

He drew in a deep breath, struggling, and his throat felt swollen as if someone were attempting to squeeze it shut from the inside. He felt his hatred and anger melt away. His bravery fled from him as if it had never existed.

He could not breathe for a split second. And he thought he heard laughter in the place of his heartbeat, cruel and melodious and dark as the night.

And it was only this that spurred some of the intensity of his anger back within his bones. His mental voice was still shaky, however, and weak from the shock, as he spat, _Stay away from him_.

The fog of ice seemed to recede for a split second. Then a hideous, sharp jabbing spiral of pain entered his head. He yelped, backing up a step. His head throbbed and flickered as if he had been burned. His hands rose to his temples and he pressed against the wall in pain.

His blood was a pounding drum within his ears. His throat was swelling with his heart as it danced within it. He could not breathe. His jaw clenched and his eyes seemed to burst with light behind their lids. The spikes of ice grew more brilliant, violent and sharp, and stabbed as if daring him to repeat himself.

The force alone nearly knocked him to his knees.

 _Stay away from him_ , he repeated. This time, despite the pain, his voice was somehow firmer. The message came in unmistakable anger and power.

But the pain did not falter.

Yugi felt as if his eyes might burst from the pain. But a clarity swept through his mind as well, unprovoked and startling. The boy was testing him, playing with him as a cat might a mouse. There was enough pain to make him want to curl up on the floor, but not to kill him.

He was playing with him. But he was also paying him his utmost attention. Yugi simply wished it didn't come in such a way.

He shook it off for a moment. The boy didn't get it. He still had no understanding. He probably thought the idea of him threatening him or punching him before was simply a joke. And he most likely did not assume him truly capable of harming him in the first place.

_Stay away from him, stay away from my parents, stay away from m—_

Yugi recoiled as he heard a snapping noise overhead. He jumped and sprang back. The light overhead flashed and then fell through the air. Sparks and wires flared and twisted as if possessed. The ends lit bright red, furious and bloodied, and it made him tremble faintly. The ice in his head, the stabs of pain, lessened and disappeared for a moment.

He almost thought the other boy was startled by the sight.

But then he realized he had caused it. Somehow, in some way, the boy had made the light fall as it had. He had no idea the potential of the idea, the reality of it shocking him. But the boy was nowhere nearby and he felt that more than anything.

The boy had short-circuited the light for a split second. Then he had sent it crashing down towards him. It would not have struck him, but it was close enough to warn him away.

He realized, somewhere in the back of his mind, that he had no care in the world for his statement. And he was not potentially trying to harm him. He was, in fact, despite everything, simply irritated. And, in the best way he knew how, he had shut him up without speaking to him.

Yugi felt an abrupt, powerful and disorienting wave of shame and confusion crash upon him. What had the boy been doing before he had interrupted?

Had he been comfortable?

Had he been asleep?

His cheeks heated with the idea. What if he had woken him and that was why he was so angry? He had just rattled the cage of an animal he knew nothing about that was obviously able to tear him to pieces should he so desire.

And then, a new thought struck him.

What if he had just drawn the boy back to him by attempting to tell him to back off?

But then, how the hell had he even managed to contact him so easily?

The boy had said that he could hear his thoughts from anywhere within Japan. But he had not never assumed that applied to him as well. Yugi had _never_ heard the boy's voice in his mind but when he told him to spread his legs before. He had not even experienced his emotions unless they were close enough to touch.

Unless the words were projected to him forcefully, his mind was silent.

Unless the two were almost touching or already physically in contact, the boy's emotions were nonexistent.

He had to be close to him, yet somehow Yugi had just managed to brush against his mind so easily. Maybe his mind was somehow stretched further than the boy's? He pictured a rubber band, one that would have wrapped around a head of broccoli. Then he pictured one that Tea might have worn in her hair.

The contrast made him stiffen. Was that possible? Could someone's mind be more expanded or vast than another's?

He felt cold inside. That did not seem possible. But he could only think of this to explain the reaction he had managed to provoke from him.

But the other boy was too complicated a problem for him to keep his focus on at the moment.

He went on nodding at the nurses and guard. He smiled and forced his voice out to reassure them of his physical condition. He tried his hardest to convince them he was okay.

The wires and the broken glass, the metal, all looked very pathetic and foreign in his mind. For a split second, they seemed almost alien. His mind puzzled their existence. He blinked, unable to understand such a concept.

Those same wires had just been alive with surges of electricity bursting forth from their exposed copper bases. They had twisted and given off violent sparks from sudden disconnection. They had flailed in the air as if trying to reach out and attack him.

The glass at his feet was tiny, glittering with the beams of fluorescence around them. But it glinted darkly where his shadow passed over it. It was so immense a blackness that for a split second he imagined he saw tendrils of it sweeping upwards and into the air in slow currents.

He imagined them, as they seemed to writhe and twist and then coil upon the shards' surfaces, to be a small animal. He thought of a squirrel, creeping through rubbish and waste and trying not be seen. But he also realized that it was not there in the first place.

His mind had conjured up such a thought. Because he was freaked out. And the other boy was the source of it. And Yugi remembered all _too_ vividly what that red-eyed teen's reflection had looked like.

Maybe if he just believed that he was there somewhere, watching him, it would be easier. It could make everything seemingly make sense in his head even if only for a few moments before reality swept him back into its grasp. He nearly cursed under his breath, his stomach twisting with unease.

"Yugi?"

He swallowed back a silent, hideous and barking response aimed towards himself. He had wasted so much time just talking to the guard and nurses. And he'd puzzled over the other teen enough to last a lifetime. He navigated his way around the collapsed light to enter the room.

He glanced back, staring at the shining copper that glittered in his eyes, and then turned away again, smiling widely with a genuine happiness that he felt as if he hadn't known for days.

"Grandpa," he murmured, hurrying to hug him. The scent that greeted him caused his nose to wrinkle. If anyone were ever to ask him how his grandpa smelled, he would say it was most prominently the softened scent of something akin tobacco, of mint almost as sharp as freshly opened toothpaste, cinnamon and sunlight. His years in Egypt had given him a rather distinctive scent, something that no amount of shampoo or body wash had managed to strip away.

It was almost as if, somehow, his travels had become evidenced in smell alone. It was one of those things that Yugi had grown up with, had always admired. Now it occasionally worried him, however. If he smelled too much of sunlight or cinnamon it made him want to puke.

Sugoroku refused to calm down, despite his health being mediocre at its best these days. He was always willing to run off on a new adventure and that was horrifying.

"It's been a little while," he admonished softly, playfully. His hand patted his shoulder as Yugi pulled away to grab a stool from where it had been resting against the wall. The small teen took a seat, careful not to give him a chance to see the former tremble in his limbs.

His mind was still on the light that had fallen. And with it the boy was swirling around like water down a pulled drain. He bit back a shudder, stomach clenched. A glance over his shoulder alerted him that there were still people standing around the broken light.

"I know," he murmured, flashing something of an embarrassed and guilty smile. The statement was innocently chiding and he couldn't help the sense of abashment he felt. He looked down for a moment, using it to make his hands stop shaking. He rearranged his legs and pressed the soles of his sneakers into the bar beneath his knees. When he looked up again, he seemed more or less perfectly relaxed again. "School has just been a little harder. Finals are coming up in a week, you know. I've been studying so I can pass with better grades than last semester."

He pursed his lips and barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes with a dry expression. His grandpa chuckled in amusement at the statement. Yugi shot him a small look of flustered disdain from the corner of his eye and found himself unable to keep from smiling.

His mom could light a fire under his skin and leave him angry and feeling miserably defeated for days when she wanted. All it took was one word, one look. But his grandpa had only ever admonished and then taught him another way. When he flunked math, he always went to him for help and sometimes, though she wasn't around enough to merit it, he thought that maybe his mother was jealous of their relationship.

Sometime he thought that she only got so upset with him because of how estranged they seemed to be at times. She wasn't home much and his grandpa—her father—was his most constant guardian. She was almost always off with his father overseas in the states on business and visits with both of them were so rare that he could count them on one hand. Ever since his dad had gotten promoted when Yugi had turned seven, he and his mom had rarely been around. He could count the times that his mother had visited him alone on both hands but he couldn't count the many times she had admonished him—over the phone, face to face, over online chats and video.

Unless it was completely serious, his grandpa would make it into something of a joke just serious enough to make him take the hint. He could count the number of times things had been so serious that his eyes had grown darker and his face sterner.

When he was eight he told him never to take the Puzzle lightly. When he was twelve and struggling with school and threatened to quit he had told him never to blow off his grades or allow his future to crumble before him. When he was fifteen he had reminded him that things would happen in life that would seem impossible to recover from but time helped lessen the pain of a lot of them.

Yugi felt sick to his stomach as he looked at him. It was obvious that he wanted him to visit more often. That was no surprise to anyone. In fact, Yugi had even planned to at one point or another. But his finals, studying he needed to catch up on, struggling to maintain his grades, and the boy had all seemed to swallow away any opportunities.

Between the death threat to his grandfather and his parents and the knowledge that the boy truly _could_ kill them should he put his mind to it, he'd been reluctant. More frequent visits meant the boy had more of an idea of where he was. It meant he could find him and kill him because he led him there.

If something happened to his family, he could never forgive himself.

He would rather he be stabbed a million times than have something happen to them.

"How  _are_ your grades?"

Red eyes had flashed in his mind. He remembered his study notes and the words that he had caused Ushio's disease. It made him dizzy for a split second and he choked as he met his grandpa's gaze of deep plum purple eyes.

He fought away a curse, then shifted his weight in his seat uncomfortably. The spark of life and laughter in the elderly Motou's eyes was something of a comfort; it almost made him believe he could hold his own against the red-eyed teen.

After all, his grandpa was probably far more equipped to deal with him than he was. He knew how to challenge someone to a Shadow Game. He knew of dark magic that he said he had used in Egypt several times. He had always told him of those experiences when he was putting together the Puzzle.

The many times he had failed to solve it, Sugoroku had gone to cheer him up with a story about his adventures. When he was younger, he had thought—as many kids would have—that his grandfather was invincible. It was only around the time that he was twelve that it had begun to connect in his mind that just because Sugoroku had  _done_ all those things did not mean he still should. It did not mean he was invincible. It did not mean that the Shadow Games had not worn down on him as well as the loser of the trial.

But perhaps that liveliness in his eyes and his knowledge of magic could keep him safe if the boy ever _did_ come for him. But then again, perhaps it couldn't. And maybe he was just being foolish naive, far too hopeful for his own good, in believing that.

"They're still pretty high. So, I mean, if I don't do so well on the midterms, I'll be okay. Enough of a cushion just in case, although I do plan to pass each of them," he assured quickly when his grandfather raised a brow; appeased, the elderly Motou nodded in approval and folded his hands on the sheets above his stomach.

"And Joey?"

Yugi's lips twitched into a wide grin. "Oh he has no hope," he said immediately, shaking his head and putting on a playfully ashamed face. "He's going to fail really badly."

"Smartass," his grandpa snickered, rolling his eyes as Yugi watched him for a long moment. He turned his head when a woman began talking somewhere down the hall and the explanation of the light falling so suddenly was given a second time.

His grandpa had always taken something of an interest in Joey. The sad thing was actually _why_ he had. When Joey had been bullying him, Yugi had kept his mouth firmly shut, but the night they had all gotten beaten by Ushio had changed that. Since then the blond had been tagging along with him, Tristan following a few weeks later. When they had met, he felt that his grandpa had somehow known about all of it before Joey even opened his mouth and told him.

But, the other thing he knew that got his attention, was the fact that Joey loved the game Duel Monsters but was _terrible_ at it. He could not play a spell or trap card to save his life, mostly relying on strong monsters. Yugi had tried on numerous occasions to explain that he couldn't win with brute force, but had eventually taken him to his grandpa to teach.

Sugoroku had taken him under his wing, teaching him endlessly. It had come to the point that Joey could _mostly_ hold his own against Yugi in a duel. But he had to be given the second turn and a card more than Yugi in order to do it. Because of his number of monsters, he could hardly defend himself when the smaller teen used spells and traps.

But he had learned and adapted somewhat. He used more flip-summon monsters at times to help keep some of his cards from working. He was formulating strategies as he grew more familiar and confident with the game.

Grades were something entirely different, however. The blond barely managed to scrounge enough to pass at the end of each semester. The group would always snicker and tease him about it. But Yugi had always taken to tutoring him when he had the free time. He attended teaching seminars with him and extra classes to help him get a better understanding of some of the subjects.

But those chances had been swallowed away by this red-eyed boy. The fact that his grandpa was in the hospital did nothing to help either. His need to man the shop in his absence made free time impossible as well. His own studies had slipped more often than not as well. He had tons more worksheets and guides to go through. None of it was made any easier with the weight of everything happening around him.

The most he had gotten done was chemistry. Even if the boy had interrupted, he had not caused him to forget anything. Next he would have to pay attention to history when he found time. Then he would need to struggle with math in an effort to understand all of the things he _didn't_ in that stupid subject.

The thought was slightly overwhelming.

But at least he had a month before midterms. The missed opportunities would be easily recovered in the meantime.

"I should say I am but I'm not surprised at all," Sugoroku sighed, shaking his head and raising a brow at the way Yugi grinned like the Cheshire cat. "Don't you smile like that, Yugi. You aren't exactly the best with your studies either."

The teen stuck his tongue out, wrinkling his nose indignantly. "No bubble bursting for you," he said immediately, crossing his arms and pressing more of his weight into his shoes where they rested against the stool. It brought a distorted sensation of being perfectly balanced and yet ready to topple over at any moment as well and he loved it to no end. "It might be bad for your health."

"You spend too much time with Joey thinking you can talk to me like that," the elder Motou teased, glancing into the hallway behind Yugi and frowning slightly. The light had been moved away but the janitor was sweeping up the glass. The soft noise sent a trickle of gentle foreboding into the center of his stomach. He thought he recognized the harsh touch of dangerous Shadow Magic, the edges of it pulsing and dancing, in the air.

And, if he strained his eyes and stared, he imagined he could see tendrils of darkness and distorted light. He thought there were small sparks of lightning, deep vibrant colors that hurt his eyes and gave off energy that made his chest feel tight.

He watched the janitor for a moment. His grandson followed his line of sight, twisting around and looking back with him. Then his face fell from confused to discomfort before he blinked and forced it away again. Sugoroku allowed his eyes to shoot towards Yugi for a moment. He studied him, plum gaze boring into his, and then finally turned away with a small frown as his eyes fell upon the Puzzle hanging around Yugi's neck.

A heavy weight came to settle upon the inside of his stomach. He sighed softly and the action spurred Yugi to look towards him in confusion. The small teen puzzled over the tone of the sound, whether his grandpa might be upset or troubled.

Confused, Yugi struggled to think of anything he might have done to upset him. He recognized the expression on his face, though he had never been able to read it before, and it only came when he had done something to upset him. The idea that he was looking at him like that now was almost more disconcerting than the light fixture falling as it had.

"Grandpa?" He muttered the word so softly that he could barely hear it himself. He shifted his balance, feeling slightly trapped on his seat on the stool. He hunched forward like a cat about to spring, eyes wide as he tried to get a hint of what was going on behind the older Motou's gaze. He blinked slowly when his grandfather's expression did not change and his stomach churned painfully for a long minute. He drew his bottom lip between his teeth in a fidget, biting so hard that blood filled his mouth. The tension in his shoulders had grown sharp and painful, nearly unbearable, and it wore on him.

He was going to give him some kind of bad news, wasn't he? That was the only reason he could be looking at him like that now, wasn't it? He couldn't remember having done anything wrong.

His gut was churning and his throat was beginning to burn with bile.

Had the doctors said something?

Was his grandpa about to tell him something he couldn't bear to hear?

He didn't think he could take anymore of that right now.

Not with the boy there, not when he could have just summoned his ire by messing with him in the first place.

"When did you finish the Puzzle?"

Yugi stopped short, the spiral of his thoughts faltering and then crashing away. He blinked and stared, his eyes wide and his stomach churning further. The bile burned him further and the back of his throat ached violently with its path.

Oh gods, did his grandpa not remember when he had shown him the Puzzle weeks ago upon completing it?

He had been home that day, as Yugi had been hoping that entire week. He had been dead set on getting the chance to show him immediately when he put it together. Sugoroku had even congratulated him on it.

But now, when he thought back to it, his expression had not been wholly happy. There had been rather copious amounts of pride. But there had been a sadness there as well. And a stark discomfort that had shone above the rest.

Yugi reached down to run a finger over the eye in the center. He felt almost dizzy, drawing in another breath as he looked at him. "Two weeks ago—almost," he stated calmly, slowly, struggling for a sense of steadiness he had not had moments before. His grandpa's guard was coming up and he could see it behind in his eyes, almost like a wall of ice being resurrected. "You were home that day, remember? I finished putting it together and showed it to you…"

What if his grandpa was forgetting things? Maybe he was becoming much sicker than the doctors were telling them. Maybe they didn't even realize. If he was losing his memory, it could possibly explain the look on his face. It could even explain the one he had worn when he had shown him the completed puzzle that day.

"Right," he muttered, voice absent as he looked at the artifact. Yugi felt a chill in his stomach when he realized he had not forgotten at all. He had not forgotten because the moment had stuck with him. But now he was most likely attempting to piece together a timeframe.

A startling thought crept into mind. Was it _possible_ that the Puzzle had _caused_ his heart attack later that day? Was it possible that simple exposure to it had ensured that his heart would be weakened that day?

Perhaps instead of killing him quickly as it had done to those others who had gone on the dig, it meant to kill him slowly. Perhaps it meant to destroy him from the inside out, in which his organs would fail slowly and painfully as the years passed.

Yugi could not fathom calling it a blessing but he did not think it a curse either. The possible infliction that the Puzzle could have placed was so slow in claiming his grandpa that it could stretch his full lifespan. It could be his late nineties before it finally pulled him away completely. Or it could be in his early hundreds.

He wouldn't wake to his grandpa screaming as his organs exploded inside of him. He wouldn't hear the blood being vomited in the middle of the night. He wouldn't _hear or see_ it. He would not have to bear witness.

He scraped his nail over the eye, the groove of raised metal feeling icy and unfamiliar. He had often found himself fidgeting and stroking at the symbol when he was nervous and the Puzzle was around his neck. It was something that he had found oddly comforting. And, within minutes of doing so, oftentimes his troubles would leave him and his nervousness would disappear.

But now it felt dark and unbelievably heavy against his chest. It weighed his throat down and threatened to squeeze it shut if he was not careful.

"Have you noticed anything different about yourself?" Sugoroku asked after a long moment. His tone was vaguely reluctant, as if the task of even voicing the question unnerved him.

Yugi took a long minute to truly study him, to take in the laugh lines at the edges of his mouth that suddenly seemed full of disapproval, at the eyes that had narrowed and darkened, the way his face looked flushed of color. When he looked up from the artifact and their eyes locked, the small teen felt his entire body lock painfully.

"With me?" he finally muttered, sure he was misreading the look in his grandpa's eyes. "Not exactly."

The elderly Motou nodded. His face brightened drastically, eyes dancing with approval, and Yugi felt dizzy at the new expression. He blinked and wondered if he had been seeing things. It was so alike the red-eyed boy that it rattled him.

It was there one second, gone the next.

He drew in a shaky breath at the thought.

"All right then." Yugi blinked, bewildered and growing lightheaded with the thoughts in his head. The Puzzle was abruptly weightless. The metal had grown warm and familiar again. He nearly groaned with confusion. "So, show me your deck then. Have you added to it?"

The small teen felt queasy as his eyes narrowed slowly. "No, not really. I haven't really gone to buy cards," he finally murmured in a low voice. But he reached into his pocket regardless and drew the deck from where it rested against his thigh.

He passed them over to him, already dreading the moment he rifled through them. He had his lie in place. But he did not know that he could fool him. Nor did he know if he could keep his voice steady. The pain from the thought of it being torn in half again rattled his frame, but he suppressed it.

He had to try. He had to at least _try_.

He wasn't about to tell him that the Puzzle hadn't exactly changed _him_ , but it had _brought someone to him_. And that someone was _violent_ , _aggressive_ , _hated_ him with a _passion_ , and liked to be as _self-destructive_ as he was _outwardly_.

The very concept of explaining it was overwhelming. He had so much difficulty understanding it himself. How was he supposed to _explain_ to another person?

"That's a shame."

He stopped when he saw the fidget. His fingers were raised to scratch a this temple. Sugoroku studied the expression from his peripheral. Yugi was unusually unnerved and unhappy at the moment. When he raised his head, his frown puzzled, his gray brows furrowing slightly, the small teen looked as if he might flee.

"I'm letting Joey borrow him for a duel this weekend."

His grandson looked abruptly calm. His voice was steady as his hand fell away to rest in his lap again, a mirror of the other. But something had changed in his eyes. There was something unnatural, almost otherworldly, and it seemed to darken the sapphire blue specks of his gaze.

Yugi himself thought he felt ice brushing against him. And his nose tingled with the softest touches of moonlit trees. His head grew lighter with the caress of it. If he tried his hardest, he thought he could feel something his mind. It was cold, lapping at his thoughts, but it was impossible to focus upon. And, when he pushed too hard, it seemed to retreat with the skill of a shadow.

Yet there was a sense of inward strength worming its way into his words. It soothed the ache that came with the burden of lying and the image of the torn card which his words brought with it.

"He's practicing—trying to get some cards to help power him up when he draws him, you know?"

Sugoroku nodded because it was the only thing he could think to do. The look in his grandson's eyes unnerved him. It felt almost as if there were someone else within the room with them. The room seemed slightly colder than before. The left side of his mouth twitched downwards as he looked at him.

Yugi felt his stomach sink with guilt. Could he tell he was lying? Was he so terribly transparent?

"Okay, well tell him not to lose it or damage it in any way."

The small teen relaxed slightly though the guilt still tore at his insides. "Well duh," he teased, smiling in amusement as his grandpa shuffled through his deck again. His breath was tight in his lungs as he slowed it in order to keep his grandfather from hearing.

His eyes widened faintly. The smell had not left him. It was not some kind of distant memory. And the ice was still in his head. It was not a blanket of some distant thought.

He froze and then twitched his fingers against his thigh.

It _wasn't_ his imagination that had brought him the scent of a forest drenched in moonlight like that.

 _Are you here_?

He had forgotten his anger from before. The scent drew him in, strangely familiar in such little time. For the moment he forgot even that he had told him to never to come near his family. And the sensation of loss left him feeling small and weak, vulnerable at his very core.

He almost shivered. Had he always felt like that? Or did the boy's presence do that to him? Did it merely expose it? Or did it enforce it?

The ice was a hideous wall in the back of his mind, brittle and pulsing with cold. He fought back a wince at the sensation. His grandfather was still looking his cards over. A stab unfurled itself within his temple. Then it faded immediately again.

The scent of ice and moonlight, the impenetrable darkness, swept away with it. A sense of panic came through him. His mouth nearly snapped open with his growing horror. He wanted him there. He wanted him to stay and—

It was better that he didn't do that.

If he backed down from his earlier statement, what ground would the boy take that for? He could see him taking the inch and running for miles. Yugi would never be able to regain his footing.

The boy needed to stay away.

And maybe in that moment he had forgotten it, but now the anger returned. It was almost as if the boy had somehow held it at bay enough to influence his words. Or perhaps Yugi had just been so lost that he had let it slip away in that moment.

Either way, he could not let the bastard get close. He would hurt someone. He was too violent. He was self-destructive. He was _destructive_ , period. And he would hurt someone close to him. If he was truly reliant upon him like he claimed, like it _felt_ , he would use them as a means to an end.

Yugi narrowed his eyes and licked his lips, the tissue of his bottom one burning with the touch. He tasted blood slightly but it was so light that it must have scabbed over.

He looked away when his grandpa focused on him again. Maybe if he kept it up and fought him, the other would simply go away.

Maybe it would sever whatever connection that they had, because he didn't want this.

He didn't want to have to worry constantly about his friends and family being found dead because he had angered his look-alike into acting on his murderous fantasies.

He didn't think he could live with that.

* * *

His head was still ringing. The little bastard had prodded at his mind and pushed too far into the forefront. It ached and pulsed and his head felt as if it might explode. His skull felt heavy and his jaw weak. And his eyes— _fuck_ , his _eyes_ —were sore and burning. He thought they rattled and shook and danced in their sockets.

He was tired and sore, his muscles straining under his skin as he wandered along the spot where land met sea. Foam hit the sand and drew it back into its depths, depositing a small shell that he barely cared to glance at. The sun hit his skin with a warmth that made him feel sticky, his chin and throat disgustingly wet and his clothes clinging to his flesh.

It was not surprising to him, however, that the sun would be able to force such reaction from him.

His body temperature had not risen in the slightest. He was still cold to the touch of anyone who was brave enough to do so. If someone were to brush their skin against him, they'd think he was frozen, the temperature of ice or marble.

But his nails felt oddly weighted at the tips of his fingers. And when he raised them, folding them into his palm and looking it over, he thought he saw small sparks of black. It was almost as if an electric lashing of magic had failed to crackle as the rest did.

His dark red eyes narrowed. He flicked his fingers, looking them over. The keratin tips were oddly bright white. He thought conveniently of just how much damage he could do with just this simple part of his body.

This form hardly gave much in terms of power or potential. But his magic made up by far for this. It gave him far more strength than this pathetic body could offer naturally.

But his nails and teeth could tear into flesh as violently as some kind of animal's natural defenses. His teeth had be as sharp as one of those tamed dog's. And his jaw power he knew was far more powerful than that of the _brat_ who was quickly become somehow _more_ of a bane of his existence than he already _was_.

The sound of sand shifting made him tilt his head. He stopped moving and the direction came to him. His eyes flickered, the color sharpening and darkening drastically. A few feet away, running with her pet, was a small child.

The girl did not sense him. But the dog did.

It stopped running. Its hindquarters were bunched, however, and it propelled it forward. Its terror had locked its muscles and it tumbled a few steps.

He smirked widely, watching with glinting red eyes as the girl looked up at its startled cry. The dog quickly sprang to its feet again. It shook itself wildly, trembling. A glossy coat of black and brown and white was covered in golden strains, and it seemed to shed inexplicably as its body was racked with a tremor.

He waited for that noise that they always produced. He tilted his head and studied it. But that little boom of a sound that came after growling that built in its chest did not come. The animal merely shook like a leaf. Its legs threatened to collapse beneath it. Its eyes had grown edged with white.

The girl was staring at him even as his lips pulled back completely. His teeth were bared at the little human brat. The dog let out a bay of a noise, almost akin a human yell for the child to stay back. But she failed to understand. He waited, eyes flickering, a snarl growing in his throat. But somehow she did not understand the danger.

She did not recognize the drop in temperature. She did not understand the petrified state her canine companion was in. She did not know how to stop her dog screaming as it was.

But she did not fully need to. The dog grabbed at her clothing and tried to tug her away around its trembling. The sand shifted noisily in his ears. His eyes narrowed again. The grains moved loudly against the hard pads. He bore his teeth more fully. The noise that left him made the dog release her in its mounting distress.

For a moment he did not recognize it. For some unfathomable slip of his awareness, he had not noticed it. But when he did, he was infuriated.

The girl, that prepubescent, shit-eating _human brat_ was _staring straight at him_.

He tilted his head like a predator. His eyes narrowed further. He snarled louder. The dog trembled, barked in alarm. Then it turned tail and fled a few paces. Then it spun back around to attempt to retrieve the girl again.

He watched this now, drawn to this display.

It was unnatural and yet oddly amusing.

Nature dictated that a predator flee from the presence of a greater one. But loyalty made this creature turn to circle and try to rally itself for possible conflict. He almost snapped at the dog to go. He was tempted, for that split second, to flex his power. The dog would go flying at the touch of his command. It would be a gentle tap of strength. But it would force it backwards, through the sand.

Instead he heard a scratchy noise. And his attention snapped to this girl again. She was making a pathetic attempt to mimic him. It was long and sloppy. And it sounded almost as if she were choking on food. But he still paused, considering it for a moment.

The dog whimpered loudly, circling around the girl and trying to pull her sleeve once more. The purple sheer material tore and red eyes centered in on the shredded ends of the threads. He tilted his head curiously now instead of in threat.

He lowered his gaze towards the animal, curious for a moment as to whether the dog would have been doing the same if it had not been mindlessly domesticated. If it was still as wild as some of the animals he knew existed through the other's mind, would it have been nearly as keen on the idea of protecting her?

Her parents offered the creature shelter and food, a warm place to sleep at night. They offered it things that it most likely would never be able to find on its own. And so it protected the humans, tame and stupid for their own needs.

He bristled, infuriated. His snarl rose an octave. His teeth clicked loudly. The girl flinched violently at the noise. The dog ran away with its tail between its legs, the surrender immediate. He snarled low in his throat. His teeth were sparkling where the sunlight hit them. His gums looked like torn flesh.

Yet, somehow, the dog braved its own fear to return to the girl's side.

This creature was bound to her. By some laws of genetic coding and perhaps some ounce of will that he _hated_. It still turned to face him. It moved between them. It tried to herd her back. Its flanks pressed against her legs. It backed up into her limbs. She topped over pitifully.

Her weakness spoke to him.

His lips curled back with desire. He tilted his head again. His teeth clicked painfully. His jaw burned and ached. In his eyes there was blood, covering the dunes of sand. It was splattered far upon the land. It was dragged into the water. There were copious amounts of the beautiful red liquid.

He stepped forward. It would be so easy. He could sink his teeth into her throat. Or he could slash her throat. He could do to her _the million things_ he wished he could the human brat that had dragged him here. He could _kill_ her where he couldn't _him_.

He drew in a deep breath. Her terror made his heart skip beats. He nearly laughed. His mouth opened. His teeth glinted. It would be swift. It would be _fun_.

The dog bayed loudly. His head snapped to attention. His eyes narrowed, hatred burning through his veins. Its voice lifted again. It sounded so much like a human yell. As he looked at it, it shook again. Yet somehow it remained between them.

He stepped forward again. He could kill it too. He could rip it to pieces. It bared its teeth. Its eyes wrinkled with the force of it. But its eyes were terrified. It was struggling to remain there. It was struggling to show him a threat in order to ward him off.

Yet it was so easy. He could throw the little creature. He could grab it and snap its neck. Or kick it so hard its insides caved. He could do _so many things_ to it. He could rip it to pieces like he could the girl. And yet, somehow, he was fixated by it.

It was so pathetically loyal. It was mindless to all but the thought of protecting that useless girl. Its devotion utterly defied logic. It was like its life solely depended upon getting her away. It was as if she were some kind of treasure it needed to protect. It was facing up to a creature it did not recognize but _knew_ instinctively was far more powerful. And somehow it _stayed there_.

Was that what they did with animals?

Did they just capture them and try to make them into mindless slaves for their own protection?

He found it amusing that humans had such insight into power in the first place. Considering how weak and stupid they were themselves, it was a testament. He could not fathom the loss these animals suffered upon growing older.

He entertained himself with the desire of lashing out. He could throw the animal aside. He could rip the girl apart. He could tear her limb from limb and—

He blinked and the desire melted away. There was no justification for such action. He may not have abided by the law of humans, but he could not kill unjustly. He was bound to the oaths so much older than her generation.

He wondered if perhaps a Shadow Game _could_ be issued—whether to her parents or her he cared not—but he knew he would have to see a needed action to do so. He could not issue without reason. With the behemoth brat that had attacked Yugi, he had witnessed the brute force used.

Now he had no reason for his ire to be truly provoked. There was nothing to prod at the magic within his veins. He bore his teeth into a snarl of disgust. Damn it all.

He looked up slowly, scanning the sand for the man woman he knew to be her parents, but found absolutely nothing. There were no others around that were paying them any attention. How odd that no one rushed to her aid. Her dog was hideously fearful of him. It should have been an alarm for them.

But no one came running to snatch her up. No one came to see why the dog was howling as it was.

He tilted his head slightly. Had she become lost and wandered on her own? He hummed. It would be a beautiful thing to use her as a lure. But the thought went no further. It was not worth his time. And he would need _his_ human charge to be near.

He cast her a disdainful glance. Then he spat at the dog, snapping his jaws and snarling. It backed up, falling over her. And he turned on his heel to start in the opposite direction.

"You have weird eyes."

At first it was mindless noise. Then he stopped short. The words connected in a sluggish form in his mind. His hatred rose and flared. Her speech was sloppy, far too juvenile and slurred, but there was something in it. And it made him _furious_. The innocent ring of the words made him spin around.

"What was _that_ , you little _bitch_?" he spat.

The dog howled loudly, terrified and bristling. For a moment he was tempted to swat it again. But this time he thought of physically doing so. He could send it flying. He could be _satisfied_ in the sense of such a blow. But he had no qualms with the animal.

Aside from irritating his ears with such senseless noise and flashing its teeth occasionally, it had done nothing and so he hardly cared for it. And it occurred to him, that had it not been a slave to the humans, perhaps it would have been too fearful to make such chatter at him. He looked at it curiously for only a moment.

He could strip its fur from its skin. He could strip the skin from the muscle. He stopped short again. Something had changed. His head snapped towards the sky.

A few stray clouds had moved to block out the sun. He felt a small bit of relief from its heat. But the smell of salt stung his nose. And he could feel it now, as his eyes began to dilate rapidly. But they contracted brilliantly once more as the sun came back.

Between the water's harsh glare of reflection, the sand's brutal shining of light, and the direct blow of light when he tipped his head up, his eyes had rapidly changed to accommodate him.

As always, he felt it, though he did not do so consciously. His pupils had begun to stretch outwards, drawing in some of the light he had been formerly ignoring. The ventablack color spread until it wrapped around his irises, offering a shield of dark transparent gray and then swept through the whites of his eyes using the veins to even itself out into an unnoticeable murky silver-gray.

He had found himself realizing its use only upon glancing at a woman in passing. Her sunglasses had been so dark it had made him think of raven feathers. But it also made him realize, curiously, that his body had grown to shield his own senses from the harsh glare of sunlight as well.

He glanced upon the water, tilting his head, and the glare was so soft he thought of starlight. The sight of it made his insides pool with satisfaction. A purr rose in his throat and he glanced at the sun where it began to gain shelter from another passing cloud.

His lips twitched into a small smirk as he looked up at it. His magic cut the glare so far that he could look at it and think of only moonlight. There was no need to blink rapidly or squint or raise a hand to shadow his gaze. But the reaction was almost instantaneous. And the only thing he had ever felt upon coming to realize it was happening was the softest tickle sensation.

His mind was accustomed to the darkness, built for it, wielded it. The sudden transition to this pathetic place made his blood boil in his veins; this world was so _bright_. And this form and its _so very many_ weaknesses infuriated him. The light was always so daunting, his body incredibly sensitive to it. The heat was new and foreign. The stickiness and smell of sweat was disturbing and disgusting beyond his belief. The fact that his clothing clung to his skin made him want to vomit. How was it that a human could deal with such disgusting circumstances?

And what was this slight tingle in his skin? It burned and itched but he knew it was an illusion built by this body. His skin would not take on the reddish glint that the little girl's was gaining rapidly. His body lacked the body temperature to gain the burn and the icy sensation that Yugi seemed to revel in would keep his skin free of such an annoyance.

His eyes shot towards the sun again and finally he lowered his gaze to the dog once more. The animal was in a frenzy now that his eyes had changed, foaming at the mouth and anxious, drool dripping in long strands that glistened like the water beside them. His lips twitched and he stepped forward, baring his teeth and snarling softly.

The dog tripped over itself with a hideous yelp but remained awkwardly caught in the threads of the little girl's sundress. The girl cried out softly in pain but stayed silent otherwise. She did not speak even when he looked upon her cruelly, begging her to do so.

His lips curled into a wide smirk. He peeled them back just enough to show off his canines. The thought of inflicting such fear was beautiful. His attention peaked, however. The dress's material was tearing again from the dog's struggles. The girl made a sobbing noise.

Hatred burrowed and blistered within his veins. The small hound panicked again. But in its thrashing its head turned to him again. And their eyes locked.

Now he could finally see just how much he had changed in the creature's wide dark gaze. His eyes had turned from red to a deep bluish shade reminiscent of Yugi's own. A violet sheen flickered at the very edges. The red burned at the edges of his blurred irises and he thought it looked almost like the night vision that some animals were said to possess. They called it "eye shine", did they not?

His pupils were barely dots of black, pinpricks that stretched at the edges. The glow of red was easily outdone by a shimmering gleam of blue-violet. His lashes did nothing to obscure the way they did so and he smirked in amusement as he finally turned away from the canine.

Yet, to a human, it would look simply as if his eyes were faintly glowing and darker than usual. A human could not see the change in his pupils or his irises, in the natural shield his body had created. But they would sense something terrible and uneasy upon seeing him. And they would wonder. They would worry. But they would not be able to truly witness it.

He did not even think that Yugi would be able to.

He tilted his head at this thought. If this was his body's natural reaction to direct sunlight that would have otherwise harmed his vision, what did it look like when he was with the teen at night?

He wondered if the glow was nearly as deep and shaded, almost cloudy, or if it took on a more direct and powerful gleam. If it was more noticeable in the dark, he wouldn't have been surprised. He could see in the dark as if it were daylight and that was with absolutely no use of magic. He was born of the darkness and he had been nurtured inside of it and there was no reason for him to care for lack of lighting.

Besides, what was lighting but an inconvenience he had no name for? It was new and startling to him, violent and hot where he had grown in a coldness that had been his home since his consciousness had reawakened.

He curled his lip back and snarled. The dog continued to bay at him. He glanced at it only a moment longer. Then he turned on his heel. A glance was cast now at the sky as well. The clouds were expanding, growing in masses that had not been there moments before. The sky darkened a shade, becoming a bruised portrait of dark gray and silver. He purred as the first drop of rain hit his skin.

* * *

 

Yugi flinched beneath the enormous drops that hit his face and soaked his clothing. The droplets were as large as hailstones and they hit just as hard as they would had they been frozen in the air. But the forecast had said it would be dry, that rain would come next week. The deception made him huff in annoyance. What did weathermen know anyways?

It had been so sunny when he had stepped outside of the hospital. But it had changed within the blink of an eye. There had been no warning. The small teen was unsure whether it was a random bout or something else. He could feel the other boy somewhere in the back of his mind. He was the coolest wisp of air and had settled like a mass of cotton in the back of his skull.

But he had not spoken. And Yugi's prior attempt to contact him had failed altogether.

The air whipped and the bite of winter made him tremble, his teeth clicking for a split second before he ground the enamel together and shook his head slightly. He glanced around slowly, blinking against a particularly harsh drop of water that hit him across the face. He almost thought it held enough of a sting to be considered a smack across his cheek but beyond that it seemed pretty normal.

He would not deny that he was wondering if the air would grow colder and the raindrops might freeze. Then he thought the next hit would physically stun him.

But there was mist rising from the asphalt as he walked, a clear sign that the warmer temperature would not allow it despite the wind and undertone of chill. More than anything he wanted to know when the snow would start up, and his stomach twisted as he looked up. The sky was so dark gray it was almost like a stilled tornado.

They looked solid, like chiseled and painted chunks of ice. They looked as if no wind would ever break them apart. The storm itself seemed as if it would be steady for hours to come.

He looked down again and his bangs were splattered across his forehead when the next droplet hit him. He shrugged it off, shaking his head. His hand cupped the Puzzle, a lazy and nervous reaction, before continuing towards the house.

A small bite of satisfaction lingered inside of him, however, as he traced the eye in the center of the artifact. He had actually initiated contact with the other boy. It may not have lasted for long, but it had happened. And he had formerly assumed it to be impossible, so this was somehow a welcome surprise despite it all.

He tilted his head as he glanced once more at the sky. His head shot to look over his shoulder as well a moment later. Was he there? He thought he could feel him there now. But when he looked around a second time there was nothing.

He thought if he was there, he would hardly hide himself. Why should he? Why not flaunt his strength and power? Why not make his appearance the most noticeable thing in the world?

He snorted softly, but the thought held merit. Why should he hide away when he liked to so often paint himself a threat to the small teen? It made no sense that he would not take advantage now.

But the boy was nowhere when he continued to look. But the rain was falling in immense sheets now and he felt he could barely see the length of the street. He turned away but froze when a droplet landed forcefully upon his nose.

He went to wipe it away, then paused in confusion. He thought there might be something moving off in the corner of his eye. His head snapped around immediately, eyes widening drastically. There was nothing there but shadows and steam from the asphalt. His stomach curled and tightened. He was being paranoid and gullible. He wiped at his eyelashes, which were drenched and dripping, in an effort to clear his sight, but found himself stopping short once more.

He turned around slowly. A movement made him jump violently. He hissed under his breath, spitting a curse at himself. His shadow was stretched across the ground behind him, a looming shape which seemed far more prominent against the asphalt than it should have been.

He tilted his head and stared at it, unnerved for a moment. Then he blinked and a startling clarity swept through him. The boy was there, somewhere, nearby. He was extremely close, almost breathing down his neck with the proximity, but he was invisible.

Yugi blinked slowly again, the thought blistering with discomfort inside of his already racing mind. Why should he be invisible now, however? He should have been making a point of messing with him, right?

No. Maybe he wasn't invisible.

Maybe Yugi was just looking far too hard for him.

Another raindrop hit him hard enough to cut his train of thought off. He was soaked to the bone and his teeth clicked after a moment. He took off the rest of the way for his house. When he slipped inside, his shoes were kicked off, his uniform jacket stripped from his shoulders.

He moved for the staircase, opening the first door. But something pushed at him and so he glanced over his shoulder. That backwards glance made him stiffen. His eyes fell slowly on his reflection there in the glass of the window. He blinked, taking the image in slowly, and then pursed his lips in slight annoyance.

He turned to continue upstairs, shivering faintly, and then realized, horrified, halfway to his room, just where exactly the boy really was.

Yugi stood in the hallway, eyes flickering towards the shadow beneath him, stretched from the floor to the wall. His stomach dropped as he looked upon it more pointedly, heart hammering.

Just how unlikely was that, though?

But the boy was technically a shadow _made_ of shadows, wasn't he? So why wouldn't it make sense for him to pretend to be _his_ shadow? They looked so much alike that he doubted anyone else would notice the difference. And, besides, he had seemed to show up at the hospital so suddenly. Who was to say that he had not been there the entire time, slipping out from the wall like a hideous special effects ghost from a movie?

He nearly laughed at himself, but a new thought occurred to him. If he should reach out, would his shadow pass beneath his skin or would it be _solid_? He almost stretched his fingers towards such an idea, then shook it off violently.

He didn't think the other would like the idea of his fingers somewhere against his skin if he reached out to try touching the dark shape on the wall. And he was pretty sure that it wouldn't be as he was expected. He was relatively sure he would end up simply touching the red-violet plaster of the wall.

The thought made him grimace now. A sense of loneliness swept through him, abrupt and cold. He was all alone in this house. Unless he were to try to coax the asshole out of a hiding place he was not even sure _existed_. His grandpa was still in the hospital and would be for a while longer. The doctors thought that he should take a few days to recover, but none of them had any idea about what it was he was meant to come back from.

Sugoroku had ended up in the hospital only hours before Yugi had gotten home from school and he had found himself once more inside of an empty house. His mom had visited for a day or two before leaving again and he had wound up running into the boy almost immediately after.

That in itself did not truly matter to him. But, as the seconds passed, the air conditioning clicking on, the clock ticking on the wall, he felt sick. And, despite himself, he desperately craved the presence of the other boy. He did not want to feel such immediate loneliness any longer.

Yugi tended to have trouble when he was alone. It was not that he was not capable of taking care of himself. It was where his _mind_ wandered so often. In the loneliness of the house, in the darkness of his room, oftentimes his thoughts fell on things from long before.

He _dwelled_ on things. And it shook him to his core more often than not. He would think of arguments between his parents and grandfather. He would remember tests he had failed. He would think of conversations he had said, the words taking on new meanings. He would think of how often his parents were gone, twist it to the point that he made it something they did because of him. He would think of schoolwork that he needed to get done but never had the energy for. He would think of the teasing that always happened, of Ushio and how he had beaten the snot out of him that night. He would think of game scores that he didn't seem able to beat, set by himself but so low that he could not wrap his mind around it. And each thought would pass with a heavier weight the former, until he felt he was drowning beneath it all.

He became obsessed with the tiniest details, choking himself further with thoughts of what he _could_ have done. He would imagine what he _should_ have done. He would convince himself that things were an utter failure. He would imagine things that would never happen, chances he would never have. He would think of how badly he was doing with his life in general.

He cast a glance at his shadow again, biting his thumbnail nervously. Maybe he would come if he asked? He wanted him corporeal. He wanted him in front of him. He wanted to be able to spit at him and lash out until he was blue in the face. He wanted to see the other boy stricken with a dumbfounded expression.

But he knew now, staring at it, that it was much lighter than it had been before. On the trek up the stairs it had seemed a million times darker, almost rivaling the boy's pupils. And he was well aware that he would never make it that far in the first place.

Even if he argued with him, he would fall silent long before that point. He would be spent of energy. And he would probably end up getting his ass kicked if he was not careful about what was said before that point.

Yugi groaned, covering his face with his hands. His clothes clung to him but he ignored it, unable to find the energy to peel the wet fabric from his skin. He was almost too spent to even assume trying to change his clothes, but eventually forced himself to his feet.

It was better he just got it over with and then settled for sleep or something. The idea of resting made him cringe, however, sure he would have yet another nightmare. He was not sure he could handle yet another in a long week of them.

Nightmares aside, however, he thought he wouldn't be able to get any sleep anyways. He was too acutely aware of just how alone he was, as always, and the lack of life in the house when he was so used to his grandpa's presence would keep him up for hours. He cast a glance at the clock as he tugged on some pajama bottoms and narrowed his eyes into slits. It would be a long night and he might as well make it somewhat productive.

Two hours passed with him staring at his textbook and marking answers on his worksheet, bored out of his mind. A feeling of extreme reluctance and foreboding had crept through him somewhere between the first hour and now and he found himself resigned to the longing in his bones.

"If you're still here…" he mumbled quietly, swallowing hard and glancing at his shadow to find that it looked brighter than it had before. A shiver passed through him, the loneliness biting at him harshly and tearing a hole in his gut. "Please…I'm…I need someone…"

A bitter flash of resentment crept through him at the aspect of the whine in his voice. He sounded like a pathetic little kid but he couldn't help but feel as if he was at the moment. He felt stripped bare and left in the cold for dead but there was nothing he could do to alleviate the sensation.

Yugi scowled at the thought of the other laughing at him for his little effort, how easily he had cracked like this under the weight of loneliness. Anger bubbled up in the pit of his stomach but his desperation failed to fade away as he eyed the darkness against the wall.

"Please…"

For a moment he thought he saw something twitch but realized it was just the way his fingers were unconsciously flicking the pencil in his hand. He bit his tongue until it bled, tired and frustrated and feeling almost as if he were sinking. Angrily he lowered his eyes to the worksheets spread across his desk. He flicked his pencil and blinked slowly at the sound of something clicking downstairs.

That wasn't unusual. The heat had probably finally decided to come on again, as it had an hour ago. The thought made his skin crawl and the absence of his family or even the idiot who resembled him so greatly made his stomach twist unhappily.

A small bit of hatred swirled in his gut, aimed towards the red-eyed phantom that seemed to haunt his thoughts so often when he was alone. He clenched his pencil until it felt as if the plastic were going to break in his grip, and bared his teeth. He would have loved to smack him upside the head, especially after the bastard ignored him so cruelly now. He had responded to him at the hospital when he had challenged him.

And now, when he had actually begged like a child for comfort, he was ignoring him.

He looked at the pencil and for a moment he pictured the teen, thinking of just how easily it might be to snap his neck like he could the writing utensil. He blinked stupidly at the thought, horrified that it had crept through his mind, and looked around slowly. The boy wasn't there, not even against the wall…

The pencil snapped and he dropped it, groaning in defeat just as a soft padding noise reached his ears. It sounded as if someone was coming up the stairs but he was pretty sure he was hearing things. Maybe the other boy was messing with his head, twisting and playing around with his insecurities.

Yugi bristled at the thought and pulled on a bang hars enough that he had to bite back a furious yelp of pain. He let his hands fall to the metal surface of his desk, swallowing hard and chewing his cheek as he blinked. The sound of the door coming open made him stiffen, a feeling of distinct hate-filled gratitude and sudden excitement slamming through him.

Maybe the bastard had come after all…

He swallowed, not wanting to get his hopes up.

He could be messing with his head and playing with his mind, after all. That option was still clearly on the table and Yugi wasn't about to dismiss it at any rate.

"Wow, it's so much warmer up here than it is downstairs."

His head snapped up, eyes wide as he spun around in his seat, blinking and then grinning widely. "Mom!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet and hurrying to hug her tightly, burying his face in her neck like a scared child seeking reassurance. He closed his eyes tightly, moving to draw her closer, feeling so distinctly relieved that he was almost ashamed of himself.

He was sixteen. He should have been able to deal with being on his own.

But he was so lonely and it had gotten so much worse lately that he couldn't even find it in him to truly want to belittle himself for his reaction to her presence.

Selfishly he would soak in her attention until she was gone again, and then he would deal with the mess of the dark stinging bitterness that so often crept through him lately.


	6. Chapter VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh
> 
> Update Schedule: Since I’ve already completed and posted this story on ff, I am going to try to update it weekly with the edits around updating on ff as well.
> 
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer’s block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it would be appreciated. Please and thank you.

Chapter VI

He was not human.

He could not be human.

Right?

Yugi shook his head as he tried to concentrate on getting home without being run over. He had been so distracted that he had nearly been made a part of the asphalt at least three or four times already. All of the drivers had honked at him far longer than was necessary. One of them had even rolled down their window to spit and snarl at him that he should watch where he was going. When Yugi had crossed the street again, they had tried to spit on his sneakers with contempt.

He was not looking forward to a fifth incident by any means. Yet the other boy had been the single most prominent thing on his mind.

Yugi could not shake off the thoughts no matter how hard he tried. They constantly came back to the red-eyed boy.

And the worst art was that he was _aware_ he was nearby. He thought maybe he was getting closer to him as he walked as well.

Yugi was not entirely sure and he did not know if he was all too thrilled to find out. He was still angry with the thought that he had actually begged him to come to him and yet the other had done nothing. His mom's presence had softened the blow. It had soothed the ache of being alone as he had.

But it had done nothing to quell his anger.

In fact, he thought that perhaps it only fueled his anger that much more. She was there for him when he had not asked. But it was such a strange concept that she should be there when he needed someone the most.

She had never truly had much of a maternal sense. Her timing and effort was lacking more often than not. He was relatively sure that she had never wanted to actually have kids. But she had done well to allow him to have a good future and a foundation to fall back on if he had ever found himself lacking or failing.

But, beyond that, she was not very motherly. She held him more at a distance than he had seen most parents. She didn't mean to, but he knew she had no other way of guiding him or helping him. He was more self-efficient when it came to most things. He didn't need the extra help more often than not. And he tended to, in turn, recoil at times when she pushed herself onto him a bit more than he could handle.

They lacked a proper foundation between the two of them.

It had never just been her fault alone.

He picked at his backpack strap. His anger was melting away slowly but surely. And, despite his efforts to remain upset, his frustration was becoming nothing more than avid pity.

That look he had worn the last time they had seen each other was burned into his mind.

The boy had not understood.

He did not understand anything.

That could not be considered even slightly human. There was definitely no way that it even slightly normal either. The absolution of both those facts wore on him.

Yugi reached up and rubbed his face. Then he shook his head and sighed out loud. By the gods, he simply could not force the thought from his head. He tugged on a bang violently until he yelped. The pain made him drop his hand again. But he reveled in the sensation as well. For a split second, it relieved him of all of his burdens and made him feel immense pleasure.

But he did not understand it. How was he meant to deal with all of it? And what could he do with the way that things were going? As much as improvising had done him, it clearly would not be enough.

A car honked loudly in front of him. He reached up, pulling his hand up, and his middle finger was in the air before he could stop himself. He did not even consider it. But it made him feel shameful when he stepped away from the curb. The shout that he was an ignorant kid moments later did nothing to stop him walking, however.

It occurred to him that he would need to open the shop soon. His mom surely would never do that anytime soon. She was always too high strung for selling things. More than once she had cost sales when she had interfered with recommendations or opinions on certain items. And he did not have an excuse to avoid doing so.

But, besides that, he needed to open it up again. Since the idiot had entered his life days ago, he had not really done much with it. His mom had assured him before school that she could do it. But he knew already that it was a terrible idea.

A sigh tore through his lips. The last time she had been the one to run the shop, he walked downstairs to a mom screaming at her while a small girl had stood bawling her eyes out a few feet away. She was a lousy business person.

And he was more than slightly inclined to think that the customers avoided her pointedly. Besides, it might do him well to have something to distract him. Maybe he would be able to keep the boy off his thoughts altogether.

He opened the door after a brief fumble. The keys in his hands shook and jingled. His grip was weak and loose. He probably needed something to eat, he realized, twisting the key with a thought of peanut butter and graham crackers.

But when he stepped inside, his entire body grew rigid.

No. No way.

He could _feel_ him.

Not his aura. Not the power. Not the chill in the back of his mind. No, he felt _him_.

Like some kind of omnipresence.

Yugi shook his head as he pressed the door shut and flipped the locks. His mind was racing. Was his mom home? Surely she had to be out if he was there. Either that or he was crazier than he looked and actually thought he could withstand his mother if she spotted him.

He flexed his fingers uncomfortably. Then he shifted his weight. He could feel him so prominently. He was upstairs, probably in his room. It seemed the best location. He seemed rather…reluctant to go into any other part of the house from what Yugi had seen, after all.

It was like having someone in the same room and not being able to see them. He was there, somewhere. And he burned sharply, like a flame, somewhere in the back of his mind. He glanced out the window of the door, then away again.

By the gods, Yugi could feel him like a second skin…

He could feel him as if he was attached to him…

The small teen slipped up the stairs and opened the door. Then he kicked his shoes off and closed it again before padding down the hall. The bright red-violet of the walls made his head ring for a moment. But it was easily ignored as he wandered towards his bedroom door.

It was too early for this. He had just spent hours failing horribly at school. Yet he was unable to stop from wondering if his mom was there further in the house. Maybe she would come in and leave again as she always did.

Yugi had been ambushed by the sensation that the other was so close, so extremely nearby. The boy was within walking distance. Had he gone to his house when he had left? Or had he simply missed him when he had gone to school? Was it possible they had crossed paths and that was why he had felt him so keenly?

But, if he meant to intimidate him by arriving there and waiting around, he was sorely mistaken. Yugi was angry more than anything else. And he tended to be less friendly and a bit more violent in his outbursts. He cursed and yelled and snapped and spat when he was stressed and angry. And right now he was both.

He did not want to have to deal with this boy at all.

Yugi threw the door open and the boy did not so much as look at him. He was seated at the desk, leaning over it lazily. The smaller teen narrowed his eyes, taking in the way his elbows rested on his knees. His red gaze was in slits, gazing at his bed with something almost dark in expression.

For a split second Yugi was curious.

And then a wreath of hatred swelled in his veins and coiled through him like a serpent through dirt.

"You should leave. Before I call the police."

He did not bother to acknowledge Yugi in any way. He did not so much as straighten his shoulders or tilt his head. If anything, he simply narrowed his eyes further. His lashes caused his pupils to stretch. His gaze became almost solely black. Yugi could only see the merest sliver of red from his angle.

The small teen dug into his pockets, grasping his phone and pulling it out. He flipped it open, dialing quickly. The nine had just appeared on the screen before a sharp pain shot through his hand. His wrist seemed to explode with the force of it.

He dropped it to the floor with a recoil. A loud, sharp cry of pain left his lips. His head snapped towards him. His eyes widened drastically, shocked.

At the desk, the other boy had his nails pressed into his skin. The keratin had passed into muscle. Blood was swelling outwards. It dripped from the skin of the arm that had been holding his phone moments before.

Oh gods…

He watched the blood drip along his long digits until finally, the taller teen withdrew his nails. Rivulets of bright red made his heart skip. His stomach twisted viciously. His eyes shot to the self-inflicted wound to his face and back again.

Yugi's skin burned where the split on this boy's skin appeared. It tingled and felt oddly slippery, wet. It seemed thick and swollen. He looked his skin over. It felt as if the wound were on his own arm rather than the other's.

And, oddly, all he could think about was how bright it appeared. It looked, when he glanced up, like the ruby of the other's eyes. It did not appear as dark as he thought it would. It seemed, with the other's personality and reflection, that it would be several shades darker. But it was bright and gleaming. And he felt dizzy as he looked at it.

"Yes, I figured this out earlier." The other teen was snarling. His feet pushed heavily on the fibers of the carpet. And, when he approached, he did not make noise. But the movements were slow, predatory, and Yugi felt dizzier than ever. His narrow red eyes were locked on his as he stopped mere inches from him. "When you fell off the side of the bed and knocked your head against the nightstand."

He said it with such presumptuous anger that Yugi felt his own hatred swell further. He stepped forward, scowling. The skin along his wrist tingled and ached. It felt as if he had serrated it.

"Oh, _forgive_ me," he spat in annoyance. Yugi shook his head and looked down at his hand with a roll of his eyes. His arm was warm and felt weighted, almost sticky. He was both mortified and relieved to see that he was in fact, not bleeding at all. Yet the phantom pain was so intense that Yugi checked a second time. But his skin was perfect, unmarked by the crescent infliction on the other's.

His mind, his body, was mimicking his pain flawlessly, however. When he looked up again, the other boy was looking at the blood as well. He was watching, red eyes widened faintly, as the blood sunk into his pores. And his gaze brightened, more vibrant than ever, and the sight of it made his stomach catch with pain.

He was satisfied.

He was very intensely, cruelly satisfied…

The expression brought Yugi's fury back tenfold. He bristled viciously, looking at the other. "I don't normally have to deal with the idiocy of some fucking _moron_ sneaking into my room," he spat, "I don't normally have nightmares about opening my eyes to you holding a knife and all. Oh yes, I could see how I shouldn't have recoiled and risked falling off the side of the bed."

"Bullshit," the other snapped irritably. "There was no such nightmare."

"You say that as if you know my dreams," Yugi sneered, reaching forward before he could stop himself. He shoved him back a step, moving further into his room. He tossed his bag to the floor under the desk.

A fresh and hideous wave of self-hatred and boiling irritation came through his stomach. He paused, considering it for a moment. The boy had not meant to let it slip. Yugi had just gained information that he was not supposed to have. But he was unsure what the hell he was supposed to do with that.

Instead Yugi focused on pushing the chair in and spinning on him with a glare. "Do you even know _anything_?" he demanded icily.

The red-eyed boy stayed quiet. He stared at him with an expression Yugi was not sure how to read. And the action made him bristle further. For a moment he had a brief flash of an idea of striking out. He had the smallest second of impulse, as he had to snap that pencil before.

And, with the impulse, came a new idea.

Would the boy's neck snap as easily?

He faltered, eyes widening drastically. His heart skipped beats. His skin began to feel clammy, drenched with sweat and chill. He opened and closed his mouth. Then he stared for a moment longer.

When the other boy's brow rose, lips threatening to curl into a smirk, Yugi snarled angrily.

"What the fuck are you even _doing here_? You couldn't wait until midnight and then sneak in here and frustrate the hell out of me? Was it really too much for you to wait for a few hours? How about you hand me my phone again? Then I can go ahead and call the cops and they can deal with you."

"Are you back on that? You really think they can help you?"

"Anything to get rid of you, you piece of shit."

"Funny. You keep calling me that."

"That's because that's what you _are_!" Yugi paused, heart racing faster, and glanced at his arm. His nose wrinkled faintly. The metallic scent seemed to have grown abruptly strong, almost overpowering. Yet he could not help but think of how easy it would be for him to inflict more pain.

He could make him buckle.

He could make him scream.

Yugi shook his head slightly. His head was spinning. Why was he having such thoughts? He'd never had such ideas before.

He looked at his wrist again. The pain had lessened considerably. A somewhat dull ache had come upon his skin. It tingled and soothed like a dog's tongue.

But the sensation of blood drizzling downwards was apparent. It came down to his elbow and pooled. The heat of it made him feel shakier. It made him want to puke…

"Stop bleeding everywhere!"

The cry was desperate and his voice cracked. His heart was pounding harder. Yugi shivered and looked at him, but something else was clear on his face. He was not listening to him now.

He was thinking of something before. His eyes were cruel, amused, and his lips were still threatening to pull into a wide smirk. But he did not speak for the moment.

_Is that so_? _It hardly seemed such a way when you were begging me to come to you last night_ , the other boy thought without hesitation of any kind. His smirk was wry when he pulled his lips back drastically. The statement never reached Yugi's mind, however.

Perhaps he would save that fight for another day. If he conserved his energy now, he could use it to all but destroy Yugi later. Or perhaps it was meant to die as it had begun, a mere thought and whisper in his head.

"Why? Your face is lovely when you're disgusted. The green does so much for your pretty little eyes."

Yugi scowled at him. "You're disturbed."

He raised a brow, unimpressed. "Are you just realizing this?"

The smaller teen stopped short and stared at him for a long moment. The other boy knew that. He _knew_ that. He was _aware_ that there was something wrong in his head. He _knew_ how badly his mind seemed to be disconnected.

He knew of how wrong his behavior was.

He knew about how screwed up his mentality was.

But why the _hell_ wasn't he _working_ on it?

"You know that," Yugi breathed, voice incredulous but sharp as well, "but you haven't done anything to change it."

"How would you know?" the other boy sneered, raising a brow again before snorting loudly as he considered him more closely. His red eyes were burning, laughing with cunning. "Do you expect instant progress, Yugi? It has only been a handful of days."

"Sine _what_? Since you _met me_? Wow, that's amazing! Because you know, you aren't older than me or anything!" Yugi spat angrily. He shook his head and glared at him. The impulse to lash out was so strong that he had to shove his hands into his pockets to keep from trying to punch him. His shoulder bunched up. His spine tensed. He thought, for a split second, that he could feel his muscles rippling beneath his skin with the movement.

The other boy did not so much as blink at his tone. Nor did his display daunt him by any means. But Yugi caught the slightest fraction of a tilt to his head. It was so miniscule that it nearly made him feel sick to his stomach.

He was hyperaware of this other boy, Yugi realized. He was so hyperaware that he was almost amazed he had not begun to mimic him somehow.

"You cannot _seriously_ tell me that this right here is your attempt at working to benefit yourself."

"See, here is the thing, little Yugi," he hissed, lowering his voice until it seemed to slither through the air like a snake, curling into his eardrum and chilling his skin. He could see the predatory senses awakening even further behind his eyes. His pupils were contracting, his gaze sharpening like the brilliant point of knives. "You brought me here. _You_. Only _you_. I have not been here long enough to attempt to 'benefit' myself, as you so nicely put it."

He smirked viciously.

Yugi felt his heart race faster, the muscle jumping into his throat.

"But I have _you_ that, do I not?"

For a moment he could not breathe. Then he forced an exhale out and shook his head, glaring at him. "Again with that, 'brought' you here crap. Right, okay. Because that makes such perfect sense—"

"Listen to your own words, you stupid brat," he snarled. His teeth were bared hideously as he leaned forward. His voice dipped lower, growing colder than the air and freezing his bones. His lips curled further back. The tips of his canines glinted. Yugi's heart skipped and raced. A drop of blood hit the carpet. The fibers ate it loudly in his ears. His breath caught and choked in his throat. "Do you still not hear the answer yet?"

It seemed to take a lifetime for him to breathe properly again.

"You're full of crap. _That's_ what I _hear_."

The other boy lunged so suddenly that Yugi stumbled backwards with wide eyes. Self-preservation struck him before he could think to hold his ground. The red eyes glinted with absolute hatred. Then pure laughter shot within his gaze. The boy pulled away and backed up a step.

His wide smirk made Yugi's heart pound again. His insides surged with shame. He wished he had somehow been able to anticipate his action and stand up to it. Now the boy was mocking him openly. Even as those red eyes flicked to the phone on the ground, he was sneering at him.

He realized only a second too late what his gaze had fallen on.

That split second of hesitance cost him. When he dove for the device, it was too late. The boy plucked it before he even had the chance to move. His long fingers held it in a near vice grip. He straightened to his full height and looked down at him with a smirk which stretched even wider.

For a moment he merely weighed it in his palm. Then he flipped it several times as Yugi glared up at him. His stomach churned with annoyance. He was too ashamed to bother to try to get to his feet again. Finally the other popped the back off with his long nails. Then he tore the battery out effortlessly and tossed both onto the bed without a single word.

Yugi stared at him speechlessly for a long minute. Then he gripped at the carpet tightly and pulled himself to his feet. His eyes were on the dismantled phone when he straightened. He stared at the battery until it made his eyes hurt. Then he finally turned back to him, mumbling, "How did you know to do that?"

"What?"

"If I 'brought' you here days ago or whatever, then how the hell did you know to do that?"

"I saw you do it one time."

"How long have you been following me around?"

"Following…?"

" _Stalking_ me," Yugi snarled, spinning on him again. He was breathing heavily, an unsettling since of panicked anger beginning to twist its way inside of his stomach. "How long have you been stalking me like this?"

Even as the words left his mouth, he realized that they did not make much sense. He would have felt it had he been nearby. He could always feel it. He had felt him before he had seen him at the arcade. Had he been following him, he would have _known_ …

"I have not been stalking you," the red-eyed boy spat, baring his teeth furiously as he bristled, the accusation stinging at his insides. He felt the slight bewilderment of the smaller teen as he came to his own realization, but it did nothing to stop him from growing further infuriated. His shoulders rose, his lips curled back until each of his teeth showed. When he spoke again, his voice had grown scornful and full of hate.

Yugi nearly stumbled backwards. The urge to put distance between them was overwhelming. His heart was in his throat and the taste of blood made his head spin. He could feel his skull thundering with his heartbeat.

He felt like a piece of prey being stared down by a predator that had the power and accuracy to rip him open. And he knew it only take a single split second thought and a burst of inspiration for him to do it.

Yugi had no chance of escape if he chose to lash out.

He was too fast…

"Why waste my time with such a tedious task? I am merely here because you brought me here. Apparently that is not what you wanted, but it is what you _get_."

"What are you even _talking_ about? I didn't _bring_ you here! I had nothing to do with you until you suddenly barged your way into my life and shoved your tongue down my throat!"

"When do you think it happened? Days! Days ago! It's only been days!"

"You're like seventeen or eighteen or some crap! You aren't a little kid and you're acting like one for no goddamned reason!" Yugi snapped, shaking his head in annoyance and resisting the urge to lash out again. He bit at his cheek to calm himself somewhat. If he could stop breathing so hard, maybe he could think clearly. Or maybe the other might calm down some.

It was clear he was reacting to him rather than acting on his own. He was taking his anger and feeding from it. He was lashing out in response to his frustration.

He felt sick to his stomach. His skin was crawling with pain, his insides bursting. The other boy lashed out at him with a sharp stinging burn of hatred.

"You may have found your way into my life a few days ago, but that doesn't mean anything!"

"Are you _daft_?" he spat. His arm came at him before he could blink. He was jerked forward a step by his shirt. Yugi tried to steel his body. He pressed his weight as far as he could into the carpet. But the other did not even slightly falter.

He was not sure what the other would do if he pulled him closer. He was not sure if he would be okay if he drew him closer. It would be so easy for him to open his jaws. He could sink his teeth into his throat. He could throw him down the stairs if he got enough momentum. He could crush his throat…

"I am not eighteen or nineteen. I am sixteen—the _same as you_." The way he enunciated his words made Yugi feel dizzy and anxious. "You should think before you speak. You are already treading on dangerous ground, boy."

" _Yugi_. My. Name. Is. _Yugi_." The smaller teen attempted to push him away but failed miserably. The grip on the collar of his shirt tightened. His windpipe choked shut. He squirmed. Then the boy dropped the pressure. Yugi gasped and sputtered. His head was racing faster. "Now release me!"

He was croaking. His voice brought a grin to the other boy's face.

"Now, why should I do that?" he purred. "What would be the point of that?"

"Get off of me!"

"No, why should I do that? Tell me why."

Yugi moved to shove him again but the other teen tensed and refused to budge. Yugi did not bother with a second attempt. That initial attempt had proven effortlessly that he would not be capable of moving him. He was completely powerless to the tense muscles under his skin.

He had no hope whatsoever of being able to move him.

He would have tried waiting for a moment for his guard to slip away, then attempt to shove him again. But the thought alone was dangerous. And with the power the boy radiated, he doubted he would do anything.

His body was wired sharper than Yugi's own. He would be able to knock him back immediately. His reflexes were intense and quick. He thought he would have no time to so much as blink.

And if he was reading his mind…

He could not feel him there, but if he was…

"Goddamn it," he muttered. The sigh that left him was exasperated and long, loud in volume, and accompanied the shake of his head well. His limbs were heavy, his body exhausted. His anger had grown strained, pitiful at best. "Why won't you just _leave me alone_?"

At this rate, Yugi did not even consider himself above begging.

"You are not _listening_. You brought me here! I cannot go back because of you." His teeth were sharp, glittering, bared at him aggressively. He disregarded the whining undertone of Yugi's words. He opted instead for pushing the idea of it away as fully as he could. If he could simply make him understand, lashing out at his weakness could come second. "Not that I would wish to. However, you dragged me to this godforsaken place. And now, foolish boy, you are _stuck_ with me."

For a split second Yugi saw the image of a dog in the forefront of his mind. It was a little Shiba Inue, with the brightest of brown eyes. It was shaking and snarling. The noise of its opposition was as vicious as a puma. It let out a howl in the split second the sesame-colored animal appeared in his mind. But it was immediately gone again. The sound died away with it instantly.

Confusion sparked at his insides for a split second. An overwhelming sense of tiredness crept through him now. His body felt weak, his mind stupid, as he stared at the other boy.

"What are you even talking about?" he groaned softly, though his voice came out so low as to be a whisper. His anger had grown thin, splitting into nothingness. It snapped away and fell apart like an overstretched rubber band. It was gone in the same instant. The coil of frustrated tension left him as his shoulders sagged. The need to fight had left him. "Why do you keep _saying_ stuff like that?"

"Because I need you!"

The words were explosive, shaken. It almost sounded like something a lover would say within a desperate romance, begging a partner not to leave them. It made his heart ache and break within his chest as he looked at him. But his eyes were dark and murderous rather than wounded or hopeful. It shattered the illusion of want and desire so effectively that it winded the small teen.

Yugi shook his head again. He closed his eyes and reached up to run his fingers through his bangs. He felt dizzy and small, weak. He was so tired that he felt like his legs might buckle beneath him. The boy was giving him whiplash.

"I don't know what you want from me… What the hell do you want—?"

"I don't know! I don't know what the hell I want!"

This time the frustration and confusion shattered his voice. The strong baritone pitch splintered with his desperation, his mounting distress. It startled Yugi's eyes into flashing open. His mind reeled with the statement. His heart pounded and trembled in his chest.

When he looked at him, the boy still did not appear shattered in any way. His body was rigid and almost statuesque. But his eyes had begun to sparkle, as if watery with the coming of tears. But the effect was gone when he blinked.

He could see fire there, around his pupils. It was brilliant, scorching, and it left his lungs tight and constricted. His heart hammered harder at the sight of it. His anger was hot, wider. The panic beneath it was surging like water, however. He could see it, knew it as it attacked his insides.

"I don't know what I want. I don't know…I don't…"

His tone was still so shattered, weak…

"Okay, okay, okay! Calm down, okay?" Yugi pleaded, holding his hands up and searching his face. He felt small, weak, as if the tremulous words shattered him as well. The other boy's jaw set, his eyes glinting, and his lips threatened to curl up and back. His rage was uncontained beyond physical attack. "I don't…We can work it out or something. Just…don't freak out anymore, okay?"

The crimson gaze narrowed into slits of gleaming red framed by long black lashes. The gaze bore into his skin and left him with the desire to shiver. He realized, shaken, that there were a million different things wrong. That single look shook him to his core.

Hatred, bitterness, resentment, distrust, suspicion, a cold fire of disgust…

And all of it was directed towards him.

But Yugi honestly could not tell what he had done wrong exactly. Had he done anything wrong? The boy always seemed angered by something or other. And he was so incredibly violent one way or the other. So what kind of thing had he done to make him lash out this time? The smaller teen shook his head slightly. His head was spinning and he felt weak again. What the hell was even going on?

Lashes of confusion and hatred curled through him and bit at his exhausted mind. He could not tell where it was directed, in all actuality. But it seemed to reach towards him and the other boy as well. It was vicious, unrestrained, with jagged edges that buried themselves into his skin like barbs

Yugi did not understand what he was supposed to do with all of these emotions that were going through him like this. Half of them were not even _his_! But he was still aware of them. And the pitiful amount of self-despair, he knew, was _all his_.

He recognized the frustration that was dying. The sorrow of the situation, the pity and overwhelming self-pity; he knew them too. It was all his. Not a single moment of confusion passed upon feeling them. But there were other things mixed within the hatred and anger and bitterness, the fresh and growing resentment.

Yugi closed his eyes and tipped his head back, unsure of what else to do.

The sunlight burned through his lashes and burst uncomfortably through his eyes. He could see nothing but pale, white and golden light. When he closed his eyes, his lids made it a deep yet bright red. He could not think straight.

He could not hear the other boy moving either. The security of his stillness was overwhelming. This boy had no plans to hurt him. But Yugi was unsure if it was because of their earlier discovery or if he had truly planned to leave him without harm. He had been in his room for a long time.

He had not bothered to ambush him. So was it possible?

His head was swimming and infested. It was full of things that were hardly his. The emotions were too foreign and different and difficult. They were impossible to decipher. He could not even truly tell if his feet were still on the ground. Everything was dizzying. Everything was so estranged. Things were tilted, lopsided, within his mind.

He thought vaguely that if this boy thought his mind was claustrophobic, he would have hated Yugi's mind. It seemed so impossibly crowded and tiny. It was like the air had grown compact and pushed in on itself.

It felt just like the room around him. It was too small to contain himself and this boy. It was overcrowded, stale. And it made him feel more and more abruptly exhausted. His mind was like a weight, and his body had grown too heavy to move. He nearly laughed at how pathetic he felt, and he was unable to think straight.

He had been resolved to fight him off just earlier during math. That had been the plan at school. He had been prepared to push him out of his head. He had thought to chase him off.

But he could not turn his back on him now. He had been so desperate. And his voice still resonated in his head, shattered and broken, like the twinkle of crushed glass. Unlike this boy, Yugi could not find any way to turn away from him when he needed him so much.

He didn't resist when a small, almost hesitant kiss was pressed to his jaw. He was not sure if he did not have the will to fight or if he was desperate for the burn with his veins to be soothed. He found himself not caring to identify his reasoning. Instead he allowed him to press another small kiss an inch away from the juncture in his neck.

His teeth slid over his skin gently. It nipped once, then applied enough pressure to make him moan. The noise was soft and low and his heart raced. Pain reared through his mind, desperate and confused. Yugi's eyes opened into tiny slits to regard this other boy. The red eyes were wild with a bewildered, almost astonished expression.

The tilt of his head was minimal when he stepped back, hesitant in movement. Yugi could not understand why he exhibited so much trepidation. He looked so shocked and estranged. The emotions, however, were enough to make him feel hollow and mindless.

His confusion was overwhelming, flooding through him heavily.

His teeth nipped again. Yugi blinked slowly. He reached out to grasp at his shirt tightly. The material was lightly gripped and twisted. His other hand crept to the back of his head. Fingers moved to grasp at the soft strands of his hair, the raven black of it smooth and glossy like stained silk.

He was not sure if he was cradling or encouraging. He didn't know if he was just looking for comfort. He wanted something to keep him grounded. But he didn't know if the boy had the strength to do it for him.

The strands were brilliantly soft, cool yet warm at the same time. He had expected them to be cold like his aura, as harsh and crisp as frostbite in the air. But it felt good, deliciously so. And it warmed further around his fingers, giving beneath his touch. It grounded him somehow, in a way that Yugi couldn't quite understand.

So much he didn't understand…

Yugi nearly laughed at the thought.

This situation was driving him insane. Soon enough his family would cart him off to a mental ward. He would be drugged and kept under constant surveillance, mindless in his stupor. He would have no freedom whatsoever. There would be padded walls. They would make sure his food was slush so he could practically drink it. That way he could kill himself with utensils. That way he could choke on anything. That way he could digest it without effort.

Maybe it was never his grandpa who he should have been so worried about going insane from the Puzzle. Maybe it was always himself who he should have been so worried about. Maybe it was him he should have paid such keen attention to.

Maybe it was his own scattered mind and shattered thoughts he should have looked towards. Perhaps this was his punishment for having touched the ancient item. Perhaps this was what he got for not heeding the warnings on the side of its box or the stories his grandpa had told him.

Maybe he should have paid more attention to the words which expressed his gaining of the power and knowledge of darkness should he finish it. This would be the perfect punishment, would it not? He had played with magic that was rumored to be more binding than life and death and older than time itself.

He almost laughed.

This could be what he got for playing with the Puzzle of the Gods, a power he had treated as a toy. He had never shown it the proper respect he knew it should have been given. But he was still so young—or so it so often felt—and the truth of it was that he did not think he could have ever mustered up as much caution as he should have.

Now, perhaps, this boy was his judgment, his punishment, the consequence of his actions, given flesh and bone and fresh blood…

His own personal death, given breath…

Yugi could not fully tell if he was remorseful at the thought or not. He was still reeling with the desperation which pushed through him painfully. He drowned beneath the fear and the hatred. It was billowing, swelling, and pushed towards them both, directed so carelessly to hit them in overwhelming waves. The strained confusion and bitterness was so immense he did not know how to deal with it all.

So much…

There was just so _much_ …

His teeth chewed on Yugi's skin lightly. He tugged gently and nipped softly, as if he were trying to tenderize his skin enough to take a bite out of him. He wondered, somewhere in the back of his mind, if this boy would stop if he died in his hands now.

Would he just continue? Would he eat him alive?

He almost burst out laughing at the thought. Maybe he would tear his flesh from his bones and feast on him! Maybe he would not even leave a trace of his existence left.

Yugi thought that was just the kind of punishment someone who had played with magic they had no right to deserved. It seemed just, disgustingly enough.

Whether he thought the retribution equal to the possible crimes he had committed, he was not sure. But he did think that it would never require his approval. He could never push it away, however, and he doubted he would either, even with the chance.

Yugi shivered lightly at the thought, then breathed out shakily. A maniacal little bubble of laughter crawled up his throat and died on his tongue. The other teen's mouth moved to the edge of his, hesitating as if he were not sure what he was doing anymore.

Maybe the confusion was slowing him down now as well. If he was going to die, he supposed he should be relieved that it was at home and somewhat painful, easy. The teen might not even go much further than just spilling his blood on the carpet. Maybe that would satisfy him enough that he would not go further with someone else, try to kill others after him…

_If I had wanted to kill you_ …

The voice was like ice water and slithering skin, a snake made of elements, all wind against his cheek as the boy breathed and mental prowess as it entered his mind.

_…you would be dead by now_.

_Then what do you_ want? he thought in response. He blinked when the other teen pulled back enough to lock eyes with him for a moment. When he stared at him, confused and wondrous, the seconds stretched until he finally leaned forward again. Their lips pressed together again, gentle and soft yet firm all the same. He was unyielding, despite Yugi's initial lack of response.

_I don't know_.

Yugi figured there were a lot of things he didn't know.

That neither of them had a true grasp on.

His hands moved to his upper arms. He gripped lightly with his palms, his hand somewhat shaky, somehow in a space between thought and emotion. A small, desperate noise bubbled up into his mouth. Emotions were burning and lingering within his throat, swelling on the tip of his tongue. The other boy's mouth seemed cold but warm all the same, as if it were drawing life, heat, from his.

Maybe that was what he was doing.

He was killing him. He was going to suck the life out of him. It would come in a way that was pleasurable and easy. His lips twitched even against this other boy's. In a way, it was actually more fun than just slitting Yugi's throat. Though he could not see the other caring for the way he killed him.

No, he knew that the other boy did not care. He would simply revel in the sensation of destroying him. When his life ceased, he thought the red-eyed boy would swell and burst with happiness. He would kill him one way or another, without thought. Yugi's suffering, his family and friend's pain, would never cross his mind.

The more he considered it, the more his mind haunted him. The question had become more instinctual now. Why was he not arguing with him? Why was he not trying to push him away?

Why was he not trying to _save himself_?

Yugi didn't have a death wish. He did not want to die at all. If he could avoid it, he'd like to. He'd like to live to see more, to experience more. He wanted to see himself to a nice, old age.

But, despite that, he was not pushing this boy away. This boy, who was so likely to murder him, was something he was accepting and trying to pull closer. He was not pulling away or pushing or struggling.

Those this shouldn't have been happening, he did not care to stop it in the least. He should have been squirming and pushing away. He should have been trying to escape. He should have been telling this boy to leave, to let him be. But he was letting him kiss him, hold him so tightly that he was afraid his bones might break beneath his skin. He was letting him drag his tongue along the roof of his mouth. He was letting him taste him as fully as he wished. He was, as he tipped his head back, letting him bleed into him, encouraging and drowning him.

He was drowning and the water was ablaze.

Yugi nearly laughed at himself for that thought. But still, his fingers tightened their grip to hold him closer. His physical form, before him, within his grasp, was comforting, beautiful to the touch. He breathed out into his mouth, feeling it swallowed away in some kind of sensual manner of possession.

He pressed forward, closer to him. It felt impossible to separate from him entirely now. The other boy moved to touch his shoulders, encompassing them gently. His long fingers tickled at his skin beneath his clothes. He shivered and shook, almost laughing.

Yugi could not tell if he meant to give him admission to map his mouth or not, but he did it regardless. It was reckless of him, yet he did not hesitate. He pressed further into his mouth, pushing at the roof of his mouth, beneath his tongue, against his cheeks. He tasted like mint and darkness and moonlight, of honey and heat and winter chill. He could not find the words to truly describe it…

Yet he could feel them bleeding into each other. They merged and danced and trembled against each other. They were meant to be separate, yet they surged and pulsed together. The blend was beautiful, refusing to die away, refused to be put down.

It was pleasurable and painful all at once.

It disguised itself as euphoria but it gave itself away with the burn it possessed as it blistered his tongue.

A small moan, broken and aching and lost, came from the taller teen, and Yugi fought off the urge to pull away and breathe. His head was spinning, mind swirling, and his heart skipped slightly. His senses were addicted to the taste within his mouth. The burn which came to him burst against his tongue, delighting his senses.

He spread his fingers out in his hair. He moved them along his scalp, where the skin was light and tickled. He was combing, or perhaps massaging, and the taller teen melted beneath his touch. He purred and trembled and the fine shiver made him feel dizzy with lightheadedness.

The noise rumbled within his throat, rusty and almost sore to his ears, coming from deep in his chest and tickling his tongue. Yugi shivered at the sensation. His heart was racing and shaking happily in his chest. The noise spread more evenly, lowering to a softer volume, then steadied itself to the point of sounding like an eager cat.

So beautiful a noise.

So sickeningly beautiful…

He had always figured that kisses were meant to be romantic. His mother had raised him with the belief that they were to mean something. He had grown up thinking that romance was a true possibility.

But this…this was none of that.

It was not the least bit romantic. There was no love to be found behind their actions.

It was frantic and painful. It was terrifying to witness and behold. And it possessed a helplessness which was shared between them which neither knew how to control or work with.

"Everyone has a little bit of a desire to save the world in them. That's why they're always striving to change the world. But sometimes it's okay if you can only save one person and that person is you…"

The other boy pulled away. He was so startled by the words that had come through Yugi's mind that he reacted as if burned. The small teen blinked a few times. But his fingers did not release his arms.

_Grandpa_ …

The red-eyed teen flinched with a wounded look. His gaze made him appear almost as if, for a split second, he was truly human. Yugi blinked at him, startled, and then looked swiftly to the carpet. The deep purple of the fibers made his head spin somehow faster, lopsided and burning in his mind. He wished that the floor held the answers to what was going on, what he really needed to do.

He wanted to help the boy. But he did not know how. He had no idea whatsoever. He couldn't think straight. And his proximity made him feel great with bewilderment and confusion. He was hurting; Yugi could sense that. He was full of some ache and pain there, bursting in his skin and through his veins.

His pain was a deep chasm that tore at his insides.

Yugi squeezed his eyes shut. He felt hopeless, miserable, and it all billowed like smoke above a bonfire. He could not tell if his ache was because of him. Perhaps it was something deeper, however. Maybe it was far more involved and primal. Was it feral in design? And what of the shape it took inside of him?

He swallowed hard, trying to think of what he could possibly do, what he should be doing. Was it wrong that he ached so badly now that he was no longer kissing him? He wanted him to keep going. He wanted to feel blood between them again.

And he was not the only one who desired it. He knew that. The boy wouldn't have been there if he didn't share such a feeling. The way the boy reacted showed him the exact same draw as he felt towards him.

He finally opened his eyes and looked up again. The other boy was staring at him with the most uncertain expression Yugi had ever seen in his life. It was almost as if he were waiting for him to lash out again. He seemed to think that he was mad at him.

In all actuality, Yugi knew that he was just tired, too exhausted by far for something as simple as anger. But now he thought it went deeper than he had originally assumed it to. He was tired of everything, including the boy in front of him who was becoming so important and all-encompassing. There was so little time spent together, yet he was so powerful in his mind…

Parts of him were starting to become lost and fragmented and he could feel them dissipating. The more time he spent with him, the more he began to chip away and dissolve. Yugi was far from blind to it. He was not the least bit oblivious, either, to the darker thoughts that crowded his mind where they had never formerly existed.

Yugi had never been blind to it. But he was still allowing it to happen. He could not fathom the idea of it, but he let it. He was willingly letting it happen. He didn't understand why, but he did.

But now, he missed it. He missed himself. He missed his strength. He missed the ability to think with a level head. He felt as if he were now rendered blind.

Following mindlessly was what got people killed.

And yet, if Yugi was right, that was already what was happening. Something was dying inside of him, twisting and writhing and fading within the darkness where they merged together. It had become something else, unrecognizable.

But it was not painful. It was almost…soothing.

And it was clear he was not going through it alone. As much as the other boy tried to hide it, it was visible. His eyes betrayed him. There were little sparks within his irises, things Yugi did not recognize and doubted he did either. They gleamed and looked more damaged than the rest of him.

And even if he had not been able to see it, he would have had to be suffering the same as him. To be here, in this place, right in front of him, looking at him with such an expression…

One of them was the sheep and the wolf.

But with the way the boy was staring at him like a predator that had just run across a much stronger creature, he couldn't tell who was which.

But he needed help. Both of them did.

This was quickly becoming impossible even if it was such a short time of interaction.

Yugi shook his head after a long moment. He needed something to keep him grounded and at the moment it was the boy in front of him. He seemed like something that was double-edged but would help every way he needed it. Yet the small teen still had trouble accepting that. If he was right, then maybe they could make things turn out great. But if not, he could tell everything would fall apart immediately, without hesitation.

But he couldn't tell if it was worth the risk yet.

He would have to think about it.

Things didn't happen like this every day and it was hard trying to contain it in a box to actually attempt working with.

"I…I think you should leave…"

The other boy's eyes flashed darkly. It was almost as if he were reluctant but Yugi could see nothing but extreme discomfort and uncertainty. But the other boy still removed his hands from his shoulders.

It took him a long moment to realize that they were still connected. His mouth felt dry as he pulled his fingers from his hair and shirt, finding it impossibly hard to do so. He blinked when at first his fist refused to give all of the fabric of his shirt back to the other boy. Yugi bit his lip and stared at him, drawing his hands back to his sides and dropping them to his sides.

"I'm sorry…"

His red eyes flashed. Yugi thought for a split second he was going to argue. He himself could feel something bubbling his throat. A plea for him to stay maybe? He felt sick for a moment, dizzy with what seemed like whiplash.

A dark black mist thick enough to be fog seemed to come from the walls. It settled against him lightly almost like a shed snakeskin. It seemed to wrap itself around the other boy now, a crackling noise surging forth. He spotted the lightning just as it faded and the boy was gone again.

Yugi tilted his head, curious but not about to press for answers at this point. By the gods, he had to think this over.


	7. Chapter VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Update Schedule: Since I’ve already completed and posted this story on ff, I am going to try to update it weekly with the edits around updating on ff as well.  
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer’s block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it would be appreciated. Please and thank you.

Chapter VII

“Hey, Tea…can I ask you something?”

He took a seat next to her, amazed when he did not choke on the words leaving his mouth. A sick feeling had com e upon him, seizing his stomach and making him want nothing more than to vomit. He was watching her, but Mai was watching him now. Her brows were furrowed and her purple eyes had grown wide with confusion. He had never interrupted a conversation between the two of them before as he was doing now. His skin prickled at the thought.

Tea blinked, then looked over. At first her eyes were bright with reassurance, her lips curving into the smallest of smiles. But then their gazes locked and something seemed to fall in her expression altogether. Her mouth twisted into a frown and her brows pulled into a knitted position as she considered him.

And Yugi knew what she was seeing because he’d seen it in the mirror that morning. Her alarm was easily understood, her azure eyes wide and brimming with confusion as well. He looked lifeless, he knew, as if something had managed to drain the spark out of him altogether.

The image was engraved in his exhausted mind, burned there as if he had been branded, festering like an open sore. He had been forced to look at himself a second time, sure that he had seen something wrong the first time he’d glanced up. But he had quickly found it to be true.

His skin, usually a healthy yet pale peach shade that was just creamy enough to make him seem more attractive, had turned as white as sheets. The pallor of it was _ghostly_. The paleness of his skin made his eyes look wider, unnatural, the exotic shade of his eyes disturbing. A small dusting of pink colored beneath them, like a single touch of dawn in the morning sky. And all it had done was highlight the hideous bags that had formed beneath his gaze.

His eyes had become dull where they had formerly been vibrant, the epitome of life. The deep ringlets of sapphire blue around the pupils and outer irises and deep violet were drained. They were strained in appearance, unfocused as he used them, and the blue took on a more pinkish red-violet shade that looked whitewashed.

His bangs, normally so light and fluffy where they fell in such jagged spikes, seemed to droop tiredly from where they framed his face. And his forelock had dropped into a stringy, greasy mess of goldenrod color. But even his hair in general, normally splendid in its disarray and eye-catching by all means, seemed as if it had been pressed down and weighted by some invisible force.

And he could not style it. When he had tried, it had made it look worse than it was. The stringiness became more pronounced. Even the shower he had taken had done nothing to strip it. It did not bounce back with its usual luster, no matter how many times he shampooed it. And gel had never done anything but highlight its gross state.

Yugi shifted away slightly and braced himself against the back of his chair. He bit the inside of his cheek and watched with narrow eyes as the seconds passed. The astonished expression on her face was something he had been expecting, but he’d also been somewhat hopeful that she wouldn’t look at him like that.

It did not help, either, when Mai’s mouth fell open and she struggled to close it again. She only regained her composure a full minute later, then spun around to face the front in order to avoid embarrassing him further. If she spoke, they both knew it would be something that she didn’t need to say. She had no form of impulse control by any measure of the imagination when it came to things that surprised her. No matter what the subject, she generally blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

It had caused a lot of people to bristle in the past. Her lack of foresight when she spoke had often offended her friends and family. But Yugi had always found her blasé nature to be somewhat endearing. Yet, he was by far grateful that she was not facing him now. He did not think he could handle it right now if she opened her mouth and said something. He could barely handle the way Tea was looking at him as it was.

But the effect of it was stunted somewhat as well. His mind was hazy and had been since the moment he had woken up. He felt as if he were wading through some kind of dream which overlapped with reality, and he had enough to think about without an outside problem being pointed out. It was bad enough that he was well aware of how terrible he looked.

It was worse that there was such anxiety in his veins. There was crippling fear, numbing pain, and heart-pounding desperation which came through him in rapid bursts. His stomach tossed and burned. He thought he might go insane at any moment…

“Uh—s-sure,” she finally got out. The word was nothing but a small breath of an exhale. Her eyes were still wide and she sounded confused, her lungs tight with shock. In front of her, Mai had begun to squirm uncomfortably in her seat. It was clear she was trying not to turn back around again, not to say anything. When she let out a small sigh, even Yugi seemed to realize how hard the blonde was trying at the moment. He grimaced at her and then looked away again.

Tea gave him an encouraging smile when he raised his eyes to her again. She kept her gaze locked on his and he couldn’t help but wonder why. It was not as if there was anything healthy about them either. They were just as hideous as the rest of him was. There was no hint of normalcy in them either.

“What is it?”

He opened his mouth, fully prepared to ask for her advice on the situation that he had found himself trapped in. And then, very slowly, it began to close again. His lungs had closed in sync with his throat, as if an invisible hand were clenched around his windpipe. His eyes widened, peering at her stupidly, and Yugi found himself unable to move for a long moment.

He knew it wasn’t the other boy, however. He had not felt him since the moment he had sent him off. The fact that he had left as he had did not surprise him in the least, but his lack of influence now made his stomach cramp. Why couldn’t he be behind his lack of ability to speak? It would make things so much easier.

But when he blinked, his focus sharpened if only slightly. He didn’t need to let his mind run off in all different directions. The darkness of his lids had given the momentary reprieve necessary for him to think straight.

His spine grew as tight as a guitar string, however. He tilted his head, chewing his cheek, and took a small bit of delight at the pain it brought him. Then, slowly, he attempted to backtrack towards considering his words again. He knew he statement he wanted to make, but the words seemed to be failing him completely now.

Again he opened his mouth, starting to try to push the words forth. But, before he could make them reach the brunette, he swallowed them back again. His throat was sore and his body was exhausted. He swallowed hard, then attempted one more failure, before finally he shook his head and looked away.

Why should he burden her like this?

And with _this_?

She would only come to worry about him more. And then he would feel terribly guilty for days on end if that happened. And, besides that, he knew that Mai was listening as well. She had never been good at staying completely out of someone else’s business when it concerned him…

And what more could he do later? He would have to force them both out of the problem eventually. He would try to make them both back off when they tried to give him advice on how to work on his problem. The advice he so desperately craved was something that he knew he would not accept.

He drew in a deep breath.

He could not handle the other boy.

But there was nothing else he could try to do.

If it did somehow turn out that he was going crazy, he would rather not have his friends involved in it at all. And then, beyond that, what words was he meant to offer as explanation for what he might ask?

But then…how was he meant to live with himself like this?

The boy was constantly at the forefront of his mind, red eyes and sharp angles, jagged teeth like a wild animal and a smirk that made him sick.

His stomach twisted and flopped. For a moment he thought the acids were heating up in some kind of vain attempt to calm him. But then he remembered the Puzzle around his neck, how it rested so firmly against his abdomen. The realization made it seemingly burn more, searing his skin through his clothing like an open flame.

The Puzzle, the stupid, stupid Puzzle.

The very reminder of it made him want to puke. He had forgotten about putting it on when he had gotten out of the shower after washing his hair for the fourth time. He had given up on appearing any better then.

The artifact could have been like some kind of the beacon for the other boy to follow for all he knew. Or it might be the reason his mind seemed to be betraying him like this. He reached up for his temples, closing his eyes tightly. A soft sigh escaped him, but the pain did not alleviate, and he shook his head again slowly.

“Never mind,” he muttered dismissively. He turned away again and chewed his cheek once more. His fingers moved to run through his hair. He could feel the soft cleanliness of it, but it still looked so disgusting… “It’s nothing.”

“Yugi…”

The soft reassurance made his skin crawl. His stomach flipped. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her again. How was it possible that someone could say his name like that, so kindly, so softly? When he was beginning to feel like some kind of monster beneath a layer of familiar skin, how was it easy for her to say his name like that?

Yet, somehow, she didn’t notice. She didn’t see how feverish and uncomfortable and desperate he was to escape it all. He wondered if it was her lack of understanding that made him comfortable enough to relax ever so slightly. He opened his eyes, put his elbows on his desk, and turned to her with his face in his palms.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

Her voice was soft, reassuring, and her touch was gentle when she reached out for his shoulder. Where the action at one time would have brought a smile to his face, now he could not feel the true effects behind it. It gave him only the distinct feeling of shattering pain that did not do much more than make him stiffen.

“Yeah,” he finally muttered, forcing himself to give her a smile that he knew was far too strained. The soft look in her eyes faltered. Her gaze turned slightly suspicious, then extremely hurt by his rejection. He studied her, wondering how it could have hurt her nearly as much as her eyes conveyed. But he realized as well; they were best friends. They had talked about basically anything and everything at one time or another. He often listened to her get things off her chest and occasionally allowed her to do the same. But now wasn’t one of those times. A drift was forming, he realized, as he looked at her and spoke again. They both felt it between them, and his words only ostracized them further. “I’m okay. I think I know what I need to do.”

 _Bullshit_ , his mind taunted coldly, mocking laughter seeming to echo in the center of his skull. _You have no idea what the fuck you’re doing_. _Otherwise you would never have even tried talking to in the first place…_

He tried not to pay it any attention. But it was _his_ voice that was sneering at him like this. It was disconnected in an odd and fragmented way, showing its shattered reality. He had thought at first, with the smallest prickle of annoyance, that it was the other boy’s. He had assumed it to be the red-eyed teen sneering and laughing at him. But it was _his_ voice. It was _his_ laughter, twisted and cruel.

Yugi wondered, for only a moment, if taking off the Puzzle might make it shut up. Maybe the action would somehow silence it. He wondered how much of the Puzzle had to do with all of it. If the red-eyed boy was stalking him, was the artifact somehow involved in that too?

He thought, reaching up to run his fingers over the chain, if he could take it off and leave it somewhere. But part of him rebelled against the thought. The chain heated briefly beneath his fingers. And, when he thought to reach up and pull it from his neck, slip it off over his head, his hand felt too heavy to do so.

But if he took the Puzzle off…did that mean the boy could not find him anymore?

He wrung a finger around the chain at the thought. Then he stroked gently at the golden interspersed locks that felt cold now against his skin. The intensity of it made him want to shiver.

Was it really so easy to get rid of him?

The boy could do as he wanted. He had proven that on more than one occasion. He’d made the light in the hospital crash in front of him. He’d disappeared and reappeared seemingly from nowhere. He had dragged him to that place of lightning and darkness. He had hidden them both away from his friends at the arcade…

He nearly scoffed. Could something as simple as taking a piece of gold jewelry out of the equation _truly_ rectify that? And then…what if the boy truly _was_ nothing more than a simple figment of his imagination?

If he was, the small teen needed to find out why he had suddenly appeared. He could not recall anything traumatic happening recently beyond Ushio’s attacking him. And even then, he had simply gotten up, groaning, and told Joey and Tristan that his grandpa didn’t know he had snuck out when he started to limp off. It had not been something that he considered too terrible a situation when it came down to it. And he did not remember hitting his head hard during the incident.

But, regardless, he needed to make sure that no one found out. That was more important than anything else, wasn’t it?

He shivered. No, the boy couldn’t just be a phantom of his thoughts if he was _responsible for_ Ushio’s brain tumor…

Unless, maybe, the boy had simply picked up on the thought somehow. Yugi had, of course, been alarmed by the new development of the rumors going around the school that day. When Ushio had come back to school a few days after the incident—and no one knew why he had seemingly disappeared all that time—everyone had been whispering about it. The tumor had been one huge idea among the student body.

But was that even possible?

If the boy really was a figment from his mind, created and festering there…then, didn’t that mean he had the ability to break into his thoughts, his memories, and twist them as he saw fit? Wasn’t that how mental diseases worked? They began at the very edges of someone’s mind, then frayed at their reality until it eventually began to completely fall apart again…

He suppressed another shiver. His stomach tossed and turned bitterly now. He wanted to scream with frustration. He knew where his mind was going with this.

He had watched a horror movie a week before he’d seen the red-eyed boy for the first time. In the film, the serial killer had thought that a large black dog had been speaking to him. He had thought it was telling him to kill people. And the thought had unnerved Yugi to the point of making him wonder if his mind might fall that way one day.

But he wasn’t like that guy in the movie. He didn’t want to hurt people. And no animals spoke to him in any manner. But he couldn’t help but wonder all the same. He was so tense, and the boy was _there_. He had seemingly come from nowhere, even claimed that Yugi had _brought him there_. And he encompassed _everything_ that Yugi thought himself to hate.

So, what if it was like some kind of switch? What if something had triggered it and he just didn’t know? What if he was losing his mind slowly but surely all the same?

But, if he was a figment, how had he knocked him off the stool at the arcade? How had he managed to make the light fall at the hospital? How had he opened and closed the window in his room? Why was he so _solid_ if he was really just something that his mind had created while breaking down?

“Okay,” Tea finally murmured, cutting into his thoughts. She didn’t want to push but Yugi could see the disapproval in her eyes. It was distinct and harsh, burning into his, though he did not think she meant to appear that way so strongly. “I’ll drop it, Yugi, but…you know, if you ever need my help or just to talk or something…”

“I know,” he said softly, forcing another smile that slowly became genuine as they looked at each other. He did know. He could always go to her with a problem. She’d try to help him the best she could. “Thank you, Tea.”

She nodded and squeezed his shoulder lightly. Then she pulled her hand away and Yugi turned towards the chalkboard. Mai shot him a small glance from the corner of her eye, studying him. But where she had assumed her suspicious look might make him buckle, her cousin abruptly turned his head and locked eyes with her. The stare in them was oddly determined, burning into hers, and the seconds passed until she could no longer look at him. When she turned away, she felt his stare continue for only a few moments longer. Then he looked away again.

It was only a couple more hours before he could get out of school and finally go home again…

Yugi closed his eyes tightly, head spinning. There was something real, burrowed in the back of his mind, a subject that he had been hoping to avoid for a while to come. He was reluctant to admit it.

But the boy was going to stay his secret. That was how he wanted it, in all actuality. Somewhere, buried deep inside of him, was the urge to keep the red-eyed teen as a secret only he knew the existence of. He wanted the boy to be his. His burden or his blessing, a curse; whatever he was, he was _his_.

The boy was his.

His secret.

His pain.

His burden.

His death.

His.

His.

 _His_.

And Yugi knew he wanted it to stay that way. Despite the horror and shock of his own thoughts of smothering the boy and keeping him locked in some kind of cage for his own personal amusement and observation.

If he was real…if he could truly affect things outside of his home, his room…

If he could affect those places he did not so often frequent like the arcade or the park…

Yugi bit his lip. If he could truly exist outside of those places, then the reality became that he just wanted him to remain his and _only_ his. He was a secret borne of pure desire if such was the case.

If he was simply something that had come from the influence of the Puzzle, then this was the best course of action he could take. He could keep him confounded to his room, to his mind, limit him somehow.

But, either way, he wanted to be to be his and his alone…

* * *

 

“Hi.”

His voice came off soft and light, almost friendly, as he navigated his way past the staircase and through the door. The other boy failed to look up at him. Then he abruptly straightened from where he had formerly been seated on the floor. The solitaire cards were abandoned in front of his boots, a pair that Yugi recognized as a pair he wore often but were not allowed at school. The studs were apparently distracting. He almost rolled his eyes. The only reason he really liked them was because they gave him an inch or two in height due to the heels being reinforced as they were.

His eyes flickered to the cards lying out on the floor in front of his shoes. What _was_ he doing with them? Whatever game he had been entertaining himself with seemed strange and twisted, with dynamics he didn’t understand. They were all spread around, face up, and he puzzled over it even as he felt those red eyes on his face. Yugi furrowed his brows. Was it some kind of visual trap?

Kings and queens, numbers and symbols…

Had he laid them out in that way to distract him somehow?

There was no particular order that he could see. They were seemingly random in their placement. He stared at the ace of hearts for so long that his eyes burned. Then he looked at the king of clubs. The ends of each card seemed to be overlapping where the ink made indication of their identity, obscuring the numbers and letter to make them look almost like a collection of red-and-black-splattered leaves.

He blinked as the light from the window made their plastic coating shine. He squinted, then turned away to drop his backpack at the edge of his bed. Slowly he kicked his shoes off and took a seat, throwing himself backwards into the mattress.

“Hello.”

Yugi blinked. Had someone spoken? He faltered. The only other person in the room was the red-eyed boy. And he hardly ever spoke to him in any way that wasn’t condescending or spiteful.

Slowly he turned his head, tilting it in order to take in the other’s presence. The red-eyed teen’s gaze was locked on his face, burning into his. The heat of it made his stomach toss and his skin crawled, insides squirming with discomfort. It came to him that this seemed oddly like a visual dissection of some kind.

Then, abruptly, the red eyes lowered to the cards in front of his feet.

Yugi blinked again. When he had greeted him, he had hardly expected a response. He had been sure the silence would be thick enough to choke him in its cold, deafening grip. But now, as he struggled to comprehend the idea, the other boy looked up again. His gaze was amused, drastically so, but there was a distraction there as well, and his face was unreadable.

He swallowed hard after a moment. His eyes were so much darker now. Something had changed, hadn’t it? But what? Yugi wracked his brain but found nothing. He drew in a deep breath and considered him. Why was he there?

He had come to his room without anything like trying to mentally torture him for a few hours. That was beyond strange to him. It was actually more unnerving than the idea that he might bite him.

Did he need something?

Yugi nearly choked.

Was there anything he could possibly give him that he might want?

And then, more importantly—for the moment—was he supposed to attempt further conversation?

Or was he meant to let it die while it was still pleasant…?

“What are you doing?”

The red eyes flickered and danced for the briefest of moments. Then they fell away from his face once more. The cards reflected brilliantly within the ventablack pupils before he folded his legs gracefully and sank to a seated position in front of them once more. “I do not know yet,” he stated evenly. His eyes narrowed as he glanced up at him. Yugi could barely follow his hands as he swept the cards back up without looking. He didn’t miss a single one, the smaller teen noted, however, and it made him nearly grin. “I like the texture of the cards. They’re smooth and crisp.”

The answer surprised him enough to make him raise a brow. Then he grinned as he looked the taller boy over. It was such an odd remark to make. And the position he sat in, legs crisscrossed, made it seem perfectly normal. Yugi turned towards the ceiling and closed his eyes.

“It’s a new pack,” he explained gently. “Eventually, if you play with them enough, you can make them feel worn and broken in.”

“This world is full of inconsistencies…changes…”

The wistful note made his eyes open again. He turned towards him to see a small look of uncertainty and vague sorrow in his red gaze as he looked the cards over slowly. Yugi was unsure of what that statement meant at its core, especially with the words “this world”…

What other world was there?

He was not sure what to make of the comment. His confusion continued to grow, however, and he sat up now as he considered him fully. Was there something else as vast as this world somewhere in the universe?

Then again, if he wasn’t a figment of his imagination, then he wasn’t human. But that also lent to his confusion as to what to consider him. Was he a shadow? Was he darkness? What was he exactly? His reflection was that of writhing shadows…

And that further made him wonder. What if he truly _was_ just a figment of his imagination? If he was, then it was simply the fact that Yugi acknowledged him that lent the meaning of the words “this world”, right? That was simple enough an explanation but it seemed to fall short no matter how hard Yugi tried to make it seem logical.

He had said so many times that he had brought him there. And then there was, of course, the Puzzle. And Yugi had his own suspicions that _it_ had been the thing to drag him there rather than the teen himself. Whether he was a phantom of his thoughts or a true flesh-and-blood person, the Puzzle seemed more the key.

And it did not help that he was still as clueless as he had been before. No amount of sitting and thinking or puzzling over it all had given him any measure of answers. He did not know how he was meant to take in the other boy’s existence or anything pertaining to him.

If the Puzzle had brought him out of his mind, what was he meant to do? If the Puzzle was the source of it, did dismembering it mean that it would fix the issue?

He considered it. But the thought caused his stomach to churn. He was not sure the consideration put towards that option did much to help him in any way. His mind was far too jumbled. His thoughts were too tangled. And it was all becoming so tiresome that Yugi just wanted to lie down and curl up into a ball. He wanted to cease to do anything.

But, if he could somehow send him back, then surely that was what the other boy wanted, right? He seemed so inclined to blame Yugi for having been brought there. If he had brought him to “this world”, surely to send him back would make him happy, right?

Yugi wondered what that kind of thing would entail. How would he even know if it worked in the first place? The boy seemed to disappear and reappear on a whim, never truly appearing to have thought it through aside from messing with him. What if he just wandered off for a few days? What if Yugi thought he had gotten him out of there again? And then…low and behold, he just showed up once more?

He hardly thought it would be worth the pain of the experience at any rate. If his life returned to normal, it would surely just crash right back down the moment the other boy reappeared to ruin his day.

Yugi felt sick.

Was the boy going back worth the possible pain?

“If I should desire to go back, I would do so myself. I would have found the answer,” the boy snarled softly. Yugi had not realized he was listening to his thoughts until that moment and his cheeks flushed. He must have made him seem like some monster come to destroy his life. He almost groaned, but the red eyes were locked on the cards still. His expression was studious, intense, as if perhaps the print held the answers of which neither of them was able to decipher.

For a moment he appeared small in expression. His jaw was slanted downwards and his head was tipped the tiniest fraction to the side. His nail tapped softly against the paper of one of the playing cards.

Yugi blinked wide eyes. The words slowly connected in his head, sluggish as he took in the other’s cold expression. Now that they were facing each other again, he could see the irritation in his face even as it spiraled so heavily through his insides. “Well…then…where did you come from?” he finally asked, biting his lip. Was it the Puzzle? Had he come from the Puzzle somehow? It grew slightly cold against his abdomen, then settled at that usual lukewarm temperature it seemed to possess.

The boy stayed silent for a long minute. Then he turned away again, shaking his head sharply. His eyes grew narrowed, gleaming slits of blood, and his jaw clenched hard enough to make the muscles under his skin twitch and jerk. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Do you know or…?”

“Of course, I know, you little imbecile. But whether I speak to you about it or not is my choice,” he snapped icily. His head swung in his direction again, eyes flashing like chips of bloodied ice when the sunlight hit them. “It _is_ none of your business, you little brat.”

Yugi remained silent for a long moment. His fingers sank into the mattress’s edge and he stared at the other boy for few beats. His muscles were aching from staying seated upright and his head felt a little light from the glare he received.

“But you’re my business, right?” he said softly, slowly, studying him. He bit his cheek and the other boy curled his lips back angrily. The red eyes flashed with pure hatred, rage burning in them. His insides lit with fire even as the chill in the air spiked violently and sank into his skin like sharpened teeth. “I brought you here. So you’re my responsibility, right?”

“That does not make you my keeper,” the boy spat, vicious and defensive. But the undertone of his voice was coated with ice, a small trickle of fear. His eyes flashed with a million and one different emotions that Yugi could not read to save his life. Silence settled over the room for a split second, threatening to choke them both. The seconds passed in a steady ticking from the bathroom clock.

Yugi drew in a deep breath. “I don’t want to be your keeper,” he assured, working to make sure his voice cut through the silence. It was so immense it seemed to suffocate him, drowning him from inside his throat to his lungs and through his blood. He let out a small laugh, stunned by the sensation, and shook his head slowly. The red eyes narrowed suspiciously, his lips curling back in something almost like disgust. “I think you would murder me if I even attempted it.”

“And kill myself in the meantime? I think not,” he snorted dismissively. The scoff was loud and sharp as he grabbed the box the cards had formerly been packed inside. Yugi watched with wide eyes as he aligned them perfectly and began to drop them in.

“Huh? You…what does that mean?”

“Nothing.”

“What?” Yugi objected fiercely, blushing when the last card fell into the box with a sharp clicking noise and the teen’s fingers tightened. His nails were cutting into the soft cardboard, but he still did not look at him. His determination was wavering as the seconds passed and the other boy refused to so much as glance at him. Heart pounding, he blurted out, “You cannot just say something like that and then not tell me what it means!”

Now the boy turned to him. His eyes were harsh, glaring, and his lips curled back angrily. “It is _nothing_ ,” he snarled in a low tone, speaking slowly, and his eyes glinted with ice once more. “And you are a fool if you should think that you will make me talk if I should not wish to.”

“So, you don’t want to talk about it. And now it’s just going to be some kind of taboo subject between us?” He ignored the way the boy seemed faintly puzzled by the term. For a split second his eyes widened, then narrowed, his brows furrowing as he considered. It lasted only a moment, then his face grew further unimpressed. “No, that isn’t going to happen. We have to figure out how to work with this. We can’t do that if one of us isn’t forthcoming with information. You obviously know so much more about all of this than I do, so why can’t you just…speak to me…?”

The cards slammed into the desk with enough force to make the entire room burst with the noise of it. Yugi flinched, ears ringing, head pounding, and blinked wide eyes full of shock. The entire desk was vibrating, shaking almost like a phone. And then it abruptly stopped. His eyes flickered immediately to the other boy, who had risen and was dusting himself off lazily.

It was not as if he cared for lint or dust of any kind. It was the fact that, should his hands not be busy, he might attack the smaller boy. And, as much as he might enjoy it, such effects were short-lived.

“It might help if you were to listen when I actually speak.”

“I am listening!” Yugi objected with wide eyes, getting to his feet as well in order to keep the other boy from looming over him. The inches seemed immense when his back wasn’t straight and his shoes were off. But the other boy hardly seemed to share such sentiment. He did not even glance at him. Yugi’s head was spinning with desperation. He knew so much more than him! And he was unwilling to share in that knowledge… “I always _have_ been! You frustrate me to the core, and that’s why I snap at you. But it doesn’t ever mean I’m not listening.”

The red eyes rolled in exasperation. Yugi flushed, feeling almost as if he were a mother scolding her teenager. “If you were truly listening to me, you would have an understanding of what it is I say,” he stated simply.

“Then, do it now. Please—talk to me? Explain? Tell me something that you haven’t told me already. _Make_ me listen…”

The boy considered him only now. His head turned and his eyes flickered across his form for a few long seconds. He studied him with an intensity that Yugi could not fully recognize. Then, slowly, he turned away again, voice gruff.

“I do not have anything more to say. I am tired and I do not wish to waste my breath further.”

Yugi shook his head. His first thought was to attempt to coax him into speaking again. He would try to lower his voice, make it soothing and gentle, attempt to drag the information out of him that way. But then his voice dropped away from existence within his lungs and he swallowed harshly as he looked at him. His eyes had settled on his face again, red embers sparkling with ferocity, and they were studying him angrily. But it was not the emotion in them that Yugi shied away from it.

It was his appearance. His eyes were underlined with bags, the red orbs had grown somewhat pale with something akin exhaustion, and both irises were ringed with a disturbing pink hue. He had noticed it when he was not nose to nose with him as he was now. The boy had managed to hide it away in playing with the cards. It was only his frustration now that made him show such vulnerability.

But the more he looked, the angrier the other boy became. Yugi noticed it in the way his shoulders rose to shield his throat. His frame was hunched forward slightly. He looked smaller, almost as if his presence were diminished by half. He seemed as if he was giving up on something or perhaps he was too tired to fight back. His exhaustion seemed to make him tiny, fragile, dismissing any hint of threat he normally possessed.

Everything about him seemed suddenly reversed, drawn in and closed to him, and it was enough to make him realize the danger he was actually in. Should he keep pushing, the boy would respond like a cornered animal. And who knew the extent of damage he might inflict in his backlash?

“Okay, that’s fine,” he relented, sighing and nodding, his teeth working on the inside of his cheeks and tearing chunks from the soft flesh. He drew in a deep breath again, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. He looked so much like Yugi himself had all day at school. He had the same tired, exhausted aura he had worn all day.

The reality of the idea made him shiver. He felt small and frayed, more than slightly hurt by the entire situation. His chest ached but he could not tell if it was for himself or the other boy and trying to figure it out only made his head spin.

He shook his head slightly. It didn’t matter though, did it? The fact was that he was hurting just as much as Yugi was. And he was affected so similarly by their distance that he should not have been so angry with him.

“I won’t force it out of you.”

The words caused the fight to return to the other boy. The fourth word was hardly from his mouth before he spat, “Funny! I do not believe you could force me to do a damn thing.”

The statement was true, however, and Yugi shook his head in silent agreement. Was there a single thing in the world that could force this red-eyed boy to do something he did not want to? Was there _anyone_ actually stupid and brave enough to attempt trying to make him do their will? He could not see anyone coming up against this seemingly cold-blooded asshole to force their bidding on him.

A long minute passed in silence. Then the other boy moved over to take a seat at the end of his bed. Yugi almost thought for a moment that he had perhaps patted the comforter in invitation without realizing it. But he was still standing and his brows furrowed in surprise.

The other boy seemed so at home with himself with the simplicity of such an action. And he seemed further comfortable as he ignored his startled expression, the incredulous gleam to his eyes as he looked at him. Yugi pursed his lips, his mouth drawn tight with frustration, and the other seemed almost to smirk in amusement.

“I should not be forced to guide you by the hand and reveal to you everything,” he stated harshly, looking up with cold eyes. His smirk fell into a snarl. “You should be able to find your own footing and think for yourself without my presence here to give you all the answers.”

“I don’t need you to hold my hand or feed me answers,” Yugi snapped icily, blinking at the cruel light he saw flicker within the other’s eyes. He startled faintly, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. He wondered if he was imagining it, something in the far back corners of his violent mind. “I don’t need _anyone_ to do that, okay? I just think it would help if you would _cooperate_ with me somewhat!”

“But why must I attempt to make anything easy for you when it is so hard for me?” he drawled slowly, mocking laughter biting at the edge of each word. His lips curled into a vicious smirk, eyes glinting. “If I had the power to, I would skin you alive and rip your spine out. Just because of circumstances we find ourselves in, I am not about to become your best friend, _Yugi_.”

“Stop saying my name like that!”

“Like _what_?”

“Sneering it like that! Stop doing that,” Yugi spat, shaking his head angrily. His heart was racing and his head was pounding. “You don’t hear me doing that to you.”

“You do not know my name,” the other boy sneered, eyes glaring into his. “Nor _will_ you ever.”

“Fine, _keep_ your name. I don’t care anyways,” he snapped. “The point is, just stop doing that!”

“And if I should decide I do not want to? What will you do then?”

He wanted to say he would punch him or something along those lines. But he could not force the words out. Instead he paced a step, then moved to take his spot on the bed again, throwing himself backwards into the mattress. His eyes locked on the sky blue of the ceiling, letting himself see only that for the moment. It would help calm him down…

Yugi ignored him even as he stared at him pointedly. Finally, the small teen shrugged slowly.

“As you said, I can’t force you,” he grumbled, before pausing and sighing. “Not that I would if I could.”

The other boy’s head tilted to the side at the admission. He leaned forward, not cutting into his line of sight, but close enough that Yugi could feel him more intensely. His expression was curious and childish when Yugi slowly glanced at him again. “No?” he asked quietly.

“No.”

There was a single moment of silence.

“Well, why _not_?”

Yugi could have laughed out loud at the petulance in his voice. His lips twitched and he couldn’t help it when he grinned at him playfully. He sounded offended that he did not consider him worth the effort it would take. “Because I don’t need to,” he said easily, watching those red eyes narrow into slits of gleaming rubies. The shadows cast by his lashes helped to make his gaze more solid in color, dispelling the pink which lingered there only moments before. “You’ll talk when you want to.”

“And how should you know I ever will?” he snarled quietly, a furious edge creeping into his tone and making Yugi smile wider.

“I don’t. But I can hope, right?”

“Seems like something that would be rather useless to hope for.”

Yugi sighed and shook his head but he didn’t waste his breath on the argument he knew the other boy was readying himself for. He closed his eyes, smiling a little wider. This boy was so fucking stubborn. He was quickly becoming even more so than Joey was when he wanted food and the rest of them weren’t hungry yet. The blond would wheedle and dig his heels in, arguing and then resorting to whining. Finally, when he knew they would not budge, he would begin snapping, sometimes even ignoring them until they relented.

But this boy, with his nasty tone and biting words and overall posture…

He made him look like a novice.

“You fight so hard sometimes. I don’t get it,” he admitted. He cracked an eye open to look at him, peering curiously. The other boy scowled at him, curling his lip back as if he had just threatened to strike him. “Am I really that big a threat to you?”

“ _Yes_.”

He opened his eyes fully. Then he turned his head and stared for a long moment. Yugi remembered vaguely that this same boy had proclaimed him the _only_ threat formerly. The idea caused his stomach to twist violently as he shivered. Those red eyes bore into his skin as he shook his head and ignored the cold glint of icy hatred in his gaze.

He didn’t understand that statement by any stretch of the imagination. But he supposed that maybe if he had brought him here then he could definitely do more to him. And that was probably what upset the boy more than anything else. He probably _knew_ the things Yugi _could_ do. He was probably aware of how much damage Yugi was capable of if he managed it.

The thought of having such power as to bring him there was horrifying to Yugi. He wanted nothing more than an explanation as it was. But he knew there was absolutely nothing he could say to make him open up any further.

He could already see it. He would dig in his heels. He would brace himself for the questions. His jaws were clench. The muscles would twitch under his skin. His shoulders would rise. His eyes would burn. His entire body would become a weapon again. He would turn into the predator he knew he was. He would sooner lash out, harm himself and Yugi, than speak and give him answers in any way.

“I’m sorry.”

A long minute passed and Yugi could see his face twisting in confusion. At first he appeared only startled, then he became incredulous. Finally his lips pulled back to bare his teeth in anger, staring at him. His eyes burned hideously and his canines glinted furiously.

“For _what_?” he finally snarled out.

“Making you feel threatened.”

The boy threw his head back, laughing loudly. Then he fell back into the mattress. Yugi shot him a horrified, surprised look, and the expression made the boy howl. “Oh, you are a stupid, stupid, naïve little creature, aren’t you?” he snickered, voice bursting with amusement. “You are not sorry. You will not be sorry until I _make_ you sorry.”

Yugi at first blinked at him. The threat had come so abruptly, the laughter ceasing, that it startled him. Then he smiled widely at the statement. There was a sense of bewildering amusement, awkward and light, in his gut. A sense of relief billowed through him as well, satisfying him to no end.

His companion did not even bother to attempt to hide his disgust. He did not try to shield his hatred for him. The very fact that he wore such coldness upon his expression without pretending to feel otherwise was great. He did not allow him to entertain the thought of friendship in any measure.

Yugi found it oddly relieving that he did not pretend to care otherwise. It was refreshing that he did not offer him false hope for other things between them. He was not one for falsities and comfort he did not care to offer. He had to respect him for that, if for nothing else aside from his blatant dismissal of consideration towards him or his feelings.

If he were ever to get the chance, he would tear him to pieces.

And he would not pretend otherwise.

Yugi graced him with another small smile. The other boy sat stiffly before curling his lips back into a silent sneer. The smaller teen snickered, then closed his eyes and settled further into the mattress. He liked the fact that this teen at least warned him that he would kill him when he got the chance. He enjoyed the truth that he was not pretending that something else would happen, nor attempting to stab him in the back.

He did not desire in any way to bother with an ambush when he could kill him from the front.

He was in this situation for one reason and one only.

And he would never hesitate to make it clear to him should he forget.

He would kill him when he was able to.

And Yugi would have no chance of stopping him.


	8. Chapter VIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: Cursing should be relatively mild but sometimes grows a little more at times, Season 0 Yami...and he's a little more unhinged than usual, so keep that in mind.  
> Note: There are mentions of blood, some graphic images of death, sensual moments and feelings, touches of violence/abuse  
> Update Schedule: Since I’ve already completed and posted this story on ff, I am going to try to update it weekly with the edits around updating on ff as well.  
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer's block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it would be appreciated. Please and thank you.  
> WARNING! PART OF THIS HAS SOME VIOLENCE AND BLOODSHED! Actually, the majority of it does. There are also some rather...GRAPHIC...descriptions. I got a little carried away with what Yami actually did to Ushio. It also gives you more of an idea of Yami's personality, but if you want to skip the description of what happened to Ushio, just read the dialogue. It should work out well enough if you skip the first part aside from dialogue if you do not want to read the violence/bloodshed. You also get to learn more about Yami so there's that too...  
> Happy Halloween!

Chapter VIII

Yugi had not seen him in over a week. The days had seemingly grown so dragged out and long that it was impossible for him to know every second of them. He had fallen back into his dull daily routines—wake up, brush teeth, shower, get dressed, check backpack eat, brush teeth again, walk to school with friends. And he had found himself increasingly reluctantly to go near any of the places he had formerly seen the red-eyed boy. Unfortunately that also marked Yugi's room and oftentimes he found himself hesitating at the door and feeling sick with the emptiness he knew to greet him when he walked inside. The routines he had fallen into had grown so forced that he had no way of stopping himself from doing them, nor pausing with the slight hope that maybe the other might reappear.

He had fallen into some kind of neutral bubble of which he experienced only half of the emotional turmoil he knew himself capable of. He found it quicker and easier than having to deal with it outright. But the reality of knowing that the other boy existed made it much harder for Yugi to focus. He had grown increasingly desperate for him to return to his side.

It was almost as if he was missing something and he craved the pain. He missed the emotional wave which hit him at almost tenfold the strength it would have otherwise. He was horrified to admit that he even desired to see the blood in his dreams, those dark eyes glittering with the reflection of it. He even wanted that painstaking uncertainty which overcame each time they were near each other.

He missed that sense of standing precariously close to an edge that offered brutality and  _life_ whereas this left him dangerously numb. It was almost a perception of death, something that made him long for pain.

The small teen turned the corner to start towards home. He had spent the day with the group at the mall, beating each of the high scores Joey had claimed were impossible to top. He had endured the group's concerned glances when he rejected food in favor of simply downing his soda with a pointed stare each time. His head felt a little light now, and his eyes were sore from staring at the screen for so long.

The music from many of the arcade games was still buzzing in his ears. So the urgent beeping in his head reminded him of death rounds in the fighting games. Yugi didn't think much of it when he shifted his backpack's straps to draw them closer to the center of his chest.

Then the sound blared. The screaming began to escalate. His eyes grew wide. Then his spine tightened in horror. He spun rapidly, then cursed. A hand slammed into his throat. The force made his head ring. His eyes threatened to pop out of his head, even while closed. He could only see bright white bursts of pain when he opened them again. Behind his corneas, the fireworks split through his vision in a spiral. He thought of lightning against ocean waves.

Then his vision began to clear. He gasped for breath, but it wouldn't come. His head felt hot beneath his hair. His throat was aching and burning.

But in front of him were dark red eyes, glaring at him. Lips were drawn back into a snarl, sneering at him. But, when Yugi almost gasped with relieve and opened his mouth to give him a tired welcome, his vision cleared further. The illusion shattered without a single hesitation. His head swam with the realization.

For the smallest of seconds, his mind refused him. All he could see was the red-eyed boy.

Then it raced. His throat was held by a hand too thick and meaty, far too… _beefy_. The grip was strong, firm, the palm sweaty. It squeezed and his eyes flashed with lights in the back of his eyes again.

"Yugi Motou," a voice crowed in laughter. "It's about  _time_ I got my hands on  _you_ again. I was beginning to think I would  _never_ get to pay you back."

He recognized this voice immediately. But the message it delivered stunned him. The statement swirled in his mind and he struggled harder. The boy's face twisted but wavered slowly but surely. The features changed hideously and Yugi nearly yelped in panic.

His skin bubbled up and outwards. It looked as if it were crawling over the muscles. Then the jaw tightened and expanded, broadening. Yugi wanted to scream. He was staring at a face mutating as if it were in a horror movie. His eyes grew wider, beady and dark. They were narrow around the edges, but not sharp like carved rubies. The hair grew flatter, stringy…

Dread crept down his spine and left him frozen. His heart skipped and faltered. He breathed in roughly. His lungs squeezed with pressure. He choked from the pain. The blood was spreading, blooming, beneath his hair. The impact had split the skin. It was dripping down the wall. It was hot and sticky.

But he was only slightly disoriented in his vision.

That was relieving—

Until he blinked.

And his eyes focused.

And, oh gods…

_Ushio_ …

Yugi gagged at the sight of him. There was a massive scar across his left eye. His pupil was displaced, shiny. It faced inwards. The surface of it was bright white. The sharp iris was like that of a marble, a shade entirely different from the other. For a moment he panicked. He could not understand what he was seeing. His thoughts spun.

Then they slowed abruptly.

His eyes grew wide.

His eye had to have been gouged out. The scar could suggest nothing else. It looked as if nails had ripped through the flesh of his eyebrow and around the lid. He could see it stripped raw. It looked unable to heal properly. The tearing was extensive, the entirety of the scar a hideous concaved form of pink muscle. He nearly gagged. The pink flesh between his eye and nose was hideous. It looked as if it had been ripped out completely, as if torn with claws. It seemed to have been burned with a match, scorched dark black. He thought of a child playing with kohl, coloring too deeply.

Ushio's eye had been mutilated.

Yugi's head spun. The doctors must have been forced to give him something in an attempt to replace it. But the natural function of his eye must have been lost. And the prosthetic ones didn't look real enough…

And oh gods…

"You cost me an eye, you little bastard."

Yugi could not think straight. But he shook his head slowly, confused and horrified. His eyes could not drift from that hideous disfiguration. He choked on a breath. "I never did anything to your eye," he managed to gasp out. "I—"

Ushio squeezed his hand. Yugi fought back a strangled scream. His eyes burst with pain. He thought they were bugging out of his skull. He lashed out with his hand. His nails struck at his temple. And his other hand grabbed for his throat. In a panic, he kicked his legs violently. His head was spinning and swirling. He couldn't see straight anymore. He struck at his shin but the blow did nothing to the taller student. Ushio snickered in clear amusement as he squirmed harder.

If he could just get his grip to loosen, he could run—

But he could not produce enough force. He could not shove such a massive body away from his own. He did not have enough strength in the first place. And it was far from enough to put a dent in Ushio's opposing frame in front of him.

No…he would end up long dead before anything let up…

He didn't have the adrenaline rush he needed…

Oh gods, he was going to die in an alleyway—

Then a sharp, loud cracking noise echoed in his ears. His head rang. Ushio screamed. The sound of flesh tearing hit Yugi's ears. His eyes, wide and panicked, found it immediately. Something sharp and slender had gouged itself within the muscular teen's neck. He could see his muscles cording violently. They tried in sporadic attempts to expel the foreign object.

But he could not make it out at first.

He slumped as he was released. His balance was off from the impact with the wall. Lights flashed behind his eyes briefly again. He reached up to touch the broken flesh through his hair. The sticky liquid burned like fire against his skin. Yugi trembled and tried to focus his sight again.

Ushio had raised his hand to cover his neck. But he did nothing to block away the blood spilling in rivulets. It even sputtered out like a struggling volcano.

Then the tall teen went sailing backwards.

The sound of breaking bones made Yugi flinch. Stars burst and spun in his eyes again. The sharp movement made his throat ache. A whimper bubbled up and outwards. His vision split and centered immediately again. A soft snarl of amused annoyance met his ears. Slowly, the small teen raised his head. And his eyes locked on the hand a few feet away from him.

Blood fell in gentle droplets. It looked black in the darkness. The streetlight did little to alter the color. The surface shone with a sheen of white as it fell through the air. The pavement begged his attention, lapping at the blood. But Yugi could do nothing but stare. The appendage was small, slender. The fingers were long, thin.

It was not holding anything.

Had the weapon been dropped?

He nearly lowered his eyes to the ground.

And then realization struck him.

Yugi leaned forward and coughed. He was shaking. His throat protested the action. Vicious flares of pain rocked his body. He struggled to his feet, stumbled. Then he sought out the brick wall behind him. His fingers clenched into the concrete layering between them.

He retched loudly but did not fall over.

The boy had  _shoved his fingers through his flesh_.

Yugi shivered and glanced up through his lashes. Was it a trick of the light? The boy was watching him now. His red eyes glittered with what appeared to be concern. His brows were furrowed. His mouth was stretched into a grimace on the left side. His head was tilted slightly.

But their eyes locked for only a split second. Whatever he saw there made his lips pull into a wide, vicious smirk. Yugi shivered as he stared at the other boy. The moment did not last. His attention was back on Ushio in a breath. Yugi wondered briefly if the other boy felt the throbbing in the back of his head as well. If he could feel everything else Yugi experienced…

His eyes sported momentary patches of white again. His heart raced. His head spun faster. The throbbing quickened. His fingers wandered back to inspect the wound.

It seemed to have stopped bleeding already. But his fingers were still painted dark red in the low light. The surface of them was somehow brighter than those of the boy's. Yugi blinked. The sound of something cracking and shattering made him flinch. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. He shuddered at the residual noise that seemed to echo around him he did not open his eyes for a moment.

What was there he could do?

But the noise was so loud. And this time it seemed closer.

He opened his eyes, unable to stop himself. And Yugi found himself staring at the boy who had come to help him once more.

Only his fingers were covered in blood. But Ushio appeared to be in agony. When he struggled to his feet, he lurched heavily. His protector—for the moment; he would turn on him again the moment he was given a chance—watched him with a disinterested expression. He appeared as entertained by his efforts as a cat would a mouse that had stopped moving.

His red eyes glinted like the blood on his fingers. Then they sharpened. Something hot sparked in them. His lips curled. His smirk grew tenfold. Yugi watched as he pivoted sharply. His leg came out and caught Ushio across the shoulder in one fluid movement. The larger boy toppled to the ground, crying out in pain.

But he did not get to his feet again.

His look-alike blinked. Then his smirk edged faintly away. He sniffed with distaste. Then he crept forward. He was silent in his movements. Not a single part of him made noise. His eyes glowed against the darkened shadows.

Yugi struggled to find his balance and straighten his back. His eyes were thrice their usual side. His heart hammered. A panicked cry threatened to leave him. But he could not find the strength to truly protest.

His protector was already at the large student's side. He kicked him over onto his back, merciless in the attack. The lack of resistance seemed to be a green light. Now he loomed over the disciplinary committee leader. His left boot pressed into the center of his stomach.

Yugi blinked. The other boy leaned over. His hands were black where they touched the larger boy's. The arm formerly pressed against Yugi's throat was now tugged. The sound of ripping clothes made him flinch. A small noise left him, aching and sore. Ushio screamed. The bones were grinding and popping as they slid out of place.

The foot on his stomach pressed more firmly. A low chuckle came to the air.

He could see the clear tear of the school uniform. His arm had been ripped from its socket. The blood in his throat…it was welling outwards…it was going to touch his sneakers…

Yugi blinked and then stared. He could not make sense of it all. Too many questions burst forth in his mind.

Why was the boy there?

How had he known where to find him?

Had he known this would happen?

Was he really trying to save him?

What was…?

He shook his head rapidly. The other boy was sneering at his bully. His teeth were bared. His eyes were glowing fiercely. A malicious gleam lit them. The effect of such a look on his face would have made the devil cringe. There were too many emotions in the air. It charged and stirred. Yugi could not focus. There was no way to make heads or tails of it all.

It was overwhelming and terrible. The frustration focused and seethed beneath his skin…

The silence made his pulse so much harsher in his ears. His balance was shaky. His vision exploded momentarily. Sharp spirals of white hot pain made his head throb. A groan bubbled up and out of his throat. But neither the boy nor Ushio seemed to notice.

Instead, as if spurred unconsciously by such a noise, his look-alike merely tilted his head. Then his lips curled further upwards and the smirk threatened to split his face. Yugi thought of jack-o-lanterns and demon costumes for Halloween.

"I had assumed at first that my warning would be sufficient. But I see that you could not understand enough of it to  _leave him alone_ ," he snarled softly. His chuckle was low and soft. His lips pulled somehow further back. His teeth seemed sharper, glistening. Yugi was dizzy. He thought of wild canines, with sharp teeth long and glistening with sheens of saliva. He pictured them bared in battle and opened to shred skin like a sword cutting through paper. "I suppose I was a bit too… _lenient_ …"

Somehow Yugi did not think he truly knew the meaning of that word. He had gouged Ushio's eye out. It had to have been him. Then he had shoved his hand into his throat. And somehow Ushio was still alive. But he had torn his arm from his socket and—

Yugi blinked again. He almost missed it. The boy shifted his weight. His foot pressed into Ushio's throat. A soft purr welled up. The blood seeped out in large waves. Somehow Yugi found himself lowering his eyes further. They strained in their focus. They stayed on that shoe, his mind groggy with the absolution of such a situation.

There was far too much noise in his ears. One second he thought there was screaming. Then he assumed he heard yelling. Then there were crackles of lightning. Then there was a boom of distant thunder.

The air surrounding him was too chaotically charged. The shadows were moving, stretching, dancing, flaring. They howled and laughed. The noise was only becoming louder. The area around them was darkening—

"Stop."

The fuzz that seemed to have been bordering the edges of his vision cleared immediately. His eyes locked with the other boy's, his sight almost seemed ten times as great as it had been formerly. He could see everything in the darkness around them. The shadows stirred as if with life, though they seemed to writhe with confusion. His statement made no sense to them.

Yugi could see the very grains of the asphalt. He could see the shallow pockets of shadows against the dark material. He could see the fine splits of each thread within the uniform jacket that had been torn. Ushio's shoulder was enlarged and swollen beneath them.

He could make out the very contour of the other boy's hands. It was half-open. The fingers were held perfectly still. The blood was smeared upon the surface of them. Each pore was coated in it, but it was still lightly smudged. It looked…oddly…almost like his own would appear when he put his skin against the graphite of his pencil when he wrote an essay.

A heartbeat came in near nothingness. The roar of blood in his ears had dulled. His mind cleared drastically. The harsh throb in the back of his skull dulled. A low, distant thrum of pain replaced it. But the thoughts in his head were not his own. Shakily, Yugi could see splashes of bright red. There were rivers and rivers of it. The sky was splattered with it. The clouds were bruised with it. The air was metallic and slimy. The walls were glistening. Ushio's screams served as a hideous symphony which made his skin hum. Energy lashed at his insides with force.

Yugi blinked slowly. The immense new height of his eyesight was brutal. His heart raced but did not pound in his ears. He stared. In the back of his mind, however, he realized something else.

He could see himself.

It was distant and cloudy. He felt as if he were trying to stare through frosted glass.

His frame was tiny. It was wounded. It sagged. There was blood on his shorter fingers. His eyes were desperate and wild. His lashes were wet with prickles of tears of pain. His shoulders were shaking faintly.

And he  _hated_ it.

Some distant part of him rebelled against its acknowledgment.

And it  _hurt_.

Every thread of his clothing was in his eyes. Every strand of hair. Every tiny fleck of color which made up his irises…

It all  _enraged_ him.

But it was not their arrangement, nor their existence. He could feel that much. Yugi felt the smallest sense of bewildering  _attachment_ to them. It was the pain in his throat. It was the blood on the back of his skull. It was the tingling in his fingers. It was the panic in his belly. It was the way his hair was knotted in the back. It was the bruise forming on his throat. It was all of the things that he  _had not prevented_.

The thought rattled him.

He was…

He was sharing the other boy's senses.

The realization struck him harder than the impact of seeing himself. The sensation of his emotions paled to the shock of this one thought. Yugi stared at him. It was almost as if they were in the embrace of sunlight. His eyes were so keen that the darkness did nothing. The shades were darker, the world a little closed off with quiet. But the area around them was perfectly bright, beautiful. It was dangerous to the touch.

And his vision was magnified to a thousand times the power his own had. It was like a microscope had been placed there somehow. It gave him the sight of everything around them. And the definition of it was so great it made his heart skip beats.

But his focus was on the intent of spilling blood.

Nothing else had  _fully_ registered within his brain.

Yugi blinked.

His quickened thought patterns raced in his head. There was a pulsating sensation of them as they sped by. There was the image of him, of blood. There was that of screaming. There was hissing and laughter. Then there was a burst of which he nearly flinched away. There it was—bright and vibrant. He was  _infuriated_.

His patience was worn threadbare by this hesitation.

His silence was pushing on all of his senses. And it burned at their skin in unison. Yugi's heart skipped beats.

He let out a shaky breath. The boy was still waiting. Yugi was so confused and overwhelmed—how could  _anyone_ feel so  _much at one time_  and at such  _volume_?—that he faltered. He could not think again. The rushes of the other's thoughts made him strain to breathe properly.

The boy was staring. His red eyes were growing brighter as the shadows darkened around them. In his vision, they seemed to simply light further. The shift of the world around them did not matter. The shadows which covered his face and buried his cheeks did not matter. The fire in his gaze now held small specks of curiosity.

Such emotion trickled through the smaller boy's senses now as well.

H-had he spoken at some point? He could hardly breathe. How could he have managed such an impossibility?

Yugi stared back at him. He could hardly tell himself apart from the other boy now. They were merged together. Their emotions were brilliant, together. Their senses were more powerful than the world could imagine. Their instincts were a stunning, dancing river. He couldn't think straight.

His pupils were no more than mere dots, tiny and impossible to see. His irises had stretched outwards. The white of his eyes was filmed over with it. It was almost as if he were wearing bright red lenses. They shone brightly at the edges, where his irises  _should_ have ended.

Yugi's breath caught again. Then he exhaled faintly. The task was strenuous but demanding. It focused him some. Even as his mind wondered about the ability, whether his eyes would have been uniform in shade if his whites were not there, he forced a word out of his throat.

" _Stop_."

He snorted dismissively. When he turned away, Yugi felt it like a door slamming in his face. The connection severed so forcefully that it knocked the wind from his lungs again. The blood returned to his ears in faint pounding. It was almost as if he had wandered from a drum that had been sounding near him.

The focus of his vision became fuzzy. The shadows became immense and blotchy, inky black. His heart pounded harder. The darkness was unidentifiable against it all, the shadows one in the same. But the world in front of him was still sharper and more defined. His head no longer ached but for the gentlest throb. His veins grew warmer with the passage of blood…

"Go home."

Yugi blinked and frowned. He did not know if he was attempting to tell him to relax or truly dismiss him. He bit the inside of his cheek. Did he care about him witnessing the destruction of a fellow student? Or was he simply irritated with his presence there? But, should he leave, did that not make him a murderer as well? If he turned his back on this scene before him, did that mean he was killing him now too?

"Come with me," he stated. He took a step forward, an odd sense of security crossing his insides. His formerly wobbly balance was firmer now. The boy's red eyes narrowed. His irises flickered and his head tilted. He watched him from the corner of his gaze.

"Go home."

"Come with me."

"Get out of here."

"No. Come with me— _please_ …or I'm staying here."

He did not understand where stubbornness came from. Had he not known that it was this boy in front of him doing such a thing, he would have bolted by now. He would never have assumed to stay there. He would never have thought to argue or even breathe in loudly enough for someone to hear. He would have fled, called the police, and hid away for news.

Now he was standing there, watching him. And the thought shook him.

"Why should I wish to stop, little game? I have desire to see his blood run from his veins. And you would be that much better without his existence on this planet," he murmured. His voice dripped with a seductive edge that made Yugi blink as his mind began drowning for a moment. A euphoric sense of pleasure crept through his veins as he studied him. It reminded him of times spent in the dark or with the other boy in front of him. The lilt in his tone made Yugi's thoughts stop altogether, pushing his stubbornness away entirely. His instinctive drive to fight away his words stilled, becoming sluggish and weak in the embrace of his words. The words weaved their way through his mind like a viper, curling around his senses. It embraced him sensually, that euphoric pleasure growing tenfold. Then, slowly, with glowing eyes and a voice so soft and beautiful as to make him quake, the boy turned to face him fully. "Your life would become easier and your time at school so much better. Am I wrong, Yugi?"

He was desperate to shake his head. But something held him back. The viper paused in his mind. A wall of resistance seemed to have met it. Both of them felt it. The other boy bristled faintly but his voice came in lolling waves, soft and gentle and gossamer in its touch.  _Little game_ … it purred, shaking him further. Yugi's heart quickened. His breathing came in shallow gulps. His eyes widened and locked on him. The pull was instantaneous. They both experienced the way it wound tightly and pulsed painfully.  _Little game…_

His thoughts still did not resume for a moment. But then his eyes slowly flickered downwards. His breathing was shaky, desperate. The thought came to him that he might mold himself with this other boy. The lust burned beneath his skin like fire striking gasoline. It made his heart pound and roar.

But it came to him again.

He held his life in his hands. It was a fragile, little gift that he could break at any moment. He could simply hand him over. He was the only sense of resistance. Ushio was too stunned to do much else. Did he feel it too? Did he sense the power and  _sinful desire_ and  _lust_ and  _oh gods, it would be so easy_!

He almost moaned.  _Little game_ , the voice purred again, dripping with sex and making his head spin. That sinful, beautiful,  _warm_ ,  _passionate_ ,  _powerful_ voice coaxed within his ears, sweeping through him. But, unlike Yugi, he did not see the expression of horror and realization. Ushio's face paled drastically. His face broke into a cold sweat. He stared at him with desperation, coming to realize his own fate lying in the smaller teen's hands.

Yugi could very easily be his savior.

Or he might be his killer.

Yugi turned his head. His eyes found those bright red orbs again. His heart skipped and threatened to burst. His blood hummed and roared. His body trembled with tension, sexual and frustrated. The viper coiled and hissed. The boy pulled his lips into a smirk, nodding in distinct encouragement.

"Consider how  _free_ you will feel, Yugi…"

His name on his lips made him quake for a moment. That seductive tone made his blood hiss and sizzle. But reality tugged at his attention. And the thought of death and that desperation in his classmate's face slapped him. The spell was undone. The excitement in the other's face cowed him. The terror in Ushio's made him weak.

"…Don't…"

His lips curled back completely. The sensuous edge of his voice faded. The sharpness split his mind in half. His sense of equilibrium wavered completely. Yugi flinched. The words alone struck him hard enough to make him wobble. But the pain in his head, the way he lashed out at him, made him want to collapse to his knees.

"Go play your victim with someone else!" he snarled angrily. The seductive tone was gone for good now. He wrinkled his nose and his eyes flashed brilliantly. Yugi watched him turn to Ushio again. His lips pulled into a hideous smirk once more. The larger student screamed. The noise was choked, gurgling. Yugi flinched. The boot was pressed more firmly into his throat. "You may either leave me now to my wishes or you shall witness me destroy him. Either way, the blood shall lie upon your hands, I suppose. It might simply be easier for your feeble mind to comprehend and deal with should you not be here to witness it."

"Not on my hands. On  _yours_ ," Yugi snapped, bristling faintly. A slightly dizzy sensation began to swamp his senses. The pain in his head receded faintly. He drew in a deep, long breath.

"Are you truly so disillusioned?" the boy spat viciously. He spun on him with a wild look. His pupils had expanded, a swirling mess of darkness against spilled blood. He looked feral, like a black wolf made of shadows, blood dripping from his teeth. He watched the two colors dance. They gleamed and twisted. And then they writhed, flickering and glowing. He lowered his voice further, sneering, "Do you still not understand? I had thought that perhaps you would come to understand with some distance."

"No, I don't understand," Yugi snapped, voice bursting forth with frustration. He was slightly startled by the angry desperation coloring his tone. His cheeks heated faintly. He shook his head at him. "I do not. And I never  _have_. Just…just leave him alone. Come back with me."

A sharp bark of laughter and the bright flare of fire in his mind made him flinch back. "And should I  _ever_ wish to do  _that_?"

"Because I don't  _want_ you to crush his throat! Now, stop it!"

"Does it look as if I give a  _damn_ as to what it is you might want? Personally, I have been waiting to get my hands dirty for quite some time now. This disgusting piece of swine shit is just what I have needed in order to pass judgment," he purred. His head turned with eyes which widened with delight at the thought. His smirk pulled wider again. His fingers twitched. They looked skeletal, dark and twisted like claws. Yugi could not help but think his expression was demonic. "It just so happens that his act of threatening you yet again so places him within my domain. He has trespassed a second time. Now I shall take from him something dear."

"You don't get to play god. That's no one's right!" Yugi spat viciously. His blood was pounding in his ears again. Heat crept through his skin, crawling up his spine. Sweat began to bead along his throat for a split second. A strand of something like bitter loneliness crept through him suddenly. His senses were charged again. He was nearly breathless as he stared at the other boy. " _You_ don't  _get_ to make a call like that."

"I  _am_ a god!" the other boy snarled out. He spun on him again. His eyes were dancing, powerful and ancient in their strength. The air was static, bursting with heat. He drew in a hideous breath. His pupils expanded. Visions of life and death swirled in his gaze, images swirling through his ferocity. "I have always  _been_ one. I have merely been stripped to this body and forced to this pathetic world. And you have no  _idea_ the suffering which you have wrought upon me in bringing me here for  _imprisonment_!"

Yugi shook his head slowly. He was confused and aching, but the pain was not his alone. His heart hammered. Something in his chest tightened. His lungs felt tight. He blinked at him. The small teen could not think for a moment. "You are not a god."

He was whispering.

The other boy was not so kind. His sneer was a vicious hiss.

"I am. I have been pushed and molded within this disgustingly human body, but I am still a god."

"No god is this cruel!" Yugi exploded, unable to help himself. He was panting, distressed and anxious. His heart was in his throat. He could feel it. He was shaking. "Why the  _hell_ would you  _do_ this?"

"Must the powerful always explain themselves to the weaker beings they can so easily squash? I do as I so desire as I am able. Have you never witnessed the birth of history? Have you never come to know of the rise of nations and fall of empires? There is death, death, chaos, anarchy,  _blood_ …" He shook his head. His teeth were bared in amusement. Yugi's horrified expression danced in his eyes. He purred and cocked his head at him. "There is always so much blood. And I will spill as much as I feel will cure my hunger. Do you not understand?"

Yugi's heart was hammering faster than ever. His throat was tight and burning. He could not stop himself from taking a shaky step forward. The boy eyed him with a peculiar sense of wonder.

"If you were  _truly_ a god, you would have no need to rely on  _me_ ," Yugi snarled back. His body was rigid. Sudden understanding coaxed his spine into tightening. His eyes grew wide. He blinked at the other boy. His domain, the boy's domain—it was  _him_. He had brought him here. And he had some kind of strange control over him. And that meant that he affected him just as wounds did the other. Or perhaps the power was shared between them. But it was still there. And it bound them together so completely… Whatever it was that had been done to bring him here had brought them together and left them almost inseparable. "I can control you."

"It is cute that you should think so. But that assumption is false," the other drawled. His voice was lazy with boredom. He paused for only a moment. Then he pressed his boot harder into Ushio's thick throat. The larger boy struggled faintly. His look-alike paid him little attention, turning back to Yugi. "I shall kill whether or not you shall come to decide to deem me with your approval."

"You are  _not_ allowed to kill without reason! Think about it—you just said that your domain resides with  _me_. It means someone has to be a threat to  _me_!"

His eyes glinted with cunning cruelty. But the majority of his expression was bored and skeptical. An eyebrow rose elegantly. "And you do not consider this boy to be that?"

"I would never forgive you if you killed him."

The other boy blinked. Then his lips pulled back. He burst out laughing at him. His entire frame shook with his guffaws. Then he paused, tipping his head to the side. "Why should a god ever seek 'forgiveness' from such a pitiful creature as a  _human_?" he sneered. His weight pressed into Ushio's throat once more. The scream was drowned by gurgling. His breathing was hitched. The blood was welling up, internal and external. It lapped at Yugi's shoes, begging to seep into his skin. It wanted to stain him like nicotine…

If he could not stop the boy, then his soul would be as black as the expelled blood seemed in the dark…

"Please,  _stop_!" he breathed out. His eyes widened and shot to Ushio and back. The other boy blinked at him. His expression was rapidly growing more bored. His foot eased only slightly. His position was lazy and annoyed. Ushio breathed out roughly. The blood in his throat made Yugi flinch back. The small teen trembled faintly. His dilated gaze locked with the bored glint in the other's eyes. His stomach clenched as they watched each other impassively for a moment.

"Tell me, little game, who would care should I kill him?" he asked slowly. His eyes narrowed into challenge. Yugi shook faintly, unable to think. Then he straightened to his full height, raising his chin.

Already another tremor began to build in his bones. It begged for release, but he suppressed it in order to breathe roughly. "His family," he stated immediately. He froze, seeing the unimpressed look on his face. His discontent was clear. "Me. I would care too…"

But the last statement was brittle and small. He could hardly comprehend his own words. He stared at the other boy. His stomach sank.

"Fool!" the other sneered. The laughter was instantaneous. He fixed him with that hateful look that chilled his entire body. Yugi almost looked away, but found himself unable to. "Killing has not one thing to do with another's emotions. You foolish, foolish boy. Claiming that you should never forgive me, thinking that such words will restrain me, saying that you care about the damage done to his family and how it should affect them? That is as effective as telling me that trees are tall, that the wind blows, that a mountain is hard to climb. I can calculate such heights, I can feel and determine the direction when the wind should touch my skin, and I can agree with the statement. But doing so shall  _never_ change the way in which I will come to live my life."

Yugi stared at him. How could he be so terribly callous? How could someone's life not matter to him? His heart was pounding. He could not think of words of objection. And it occurred to him that even if he did, the other boy would never come to care.

He was death and power personified. He was a predator and a killer. He was beyond human morals. Such convictions held no importance to him. He was immense and great in his certainty of his right to kill.

It occurred to Yugi that he was just  _unnaturally lucky_ that he should have somehow found his life depending on his own. It made him matter to the other boy. It forced him to protect him. It brought him forward to deal with threats to his safety. It made him important to his survival.

But the rest of the world could be purged and destroyed. He would never care. Not a single death would make him blink. Not one moment would be spent looking back. He would not think to himself that he was sorry about it. He would not speak as if he mourned a single absence.

He was—if he could  _truly be believed_ —a god.

He was a creature so powerful that he had no reason to think of humanity.

The shell he existed in did not teach him mercy.

"Tell me, little game, because you seem to have such a large heart and feel so  _deeply_ ," the boy drawled sardonically, an amused purr filtering its way through the air and making his insides both cold and warm at once. "Tell me, foolish child. For you have chosen to put yourself within his family's shoes in an attempt to make me show him mercy, do you love him?"

Yugi sputtered and stared at him in disgust. His entire face twisted with the emotion. Disgust, disdain, and distinct fury made his eyes glint angrily. He scowled at him. And only when the other burst out laughing did he realize his mistake.

"See? His death would do nothing to harm you. Other than the obvious hatred you feel for him, there is nothing that would affect you."

"That's not…"

But wasn't it? He would feel guilty but it might pass with time. It tended to heal wounds. It tended to soothe the aches of various mistakes. Was that not why people told each other to give themselves time? Was that not why people tried so hard to point towards this in healing?

Yugi drew in a deep breath. He didn't hate Ushio. But he did not care for him either. In fact, some part of him wondered why he should argue. Yet the more abundant part of him panicked. The boy was so amused that it was horrifying.

"Oh, but would it change the way you live your life, Yugi? Would it make you strive to better yourself? Or would it be something that affected you in the moment that it happened, made you think and worry, and then disappeared as if it had never occurred?" the boy said softly, red eyes burning. His lips were pulled back into a smirk of bright white teeth.

And Yugi hated himself in that moment. He wanted to scream in frustration. Because, despite it all, the boy was right. It would not change his life in the least when it came down to it. It would shock him. And he would wonder about it. He might even become slightly obsessed with the idea that someone had died in Japan of all places. But it would never be so monumental as to change his life.

It would not push him to discover what had happened.

It would, most likely, never have a true bearing upon him.

His life would be short one more bully.

His life would be short one more person to punish him.

A name would no longer be called in role before class began…

But to tell him that would make it an absolution. He would waste no time in killing him the moment he admitted such a thing. Why he even bothered to tease him now was beyond him.

Yugi found his eyes widening momentarily. His heart pounded faster. His stomach twisted. Shame made his cheeks heat. His skin crackled with embarrassment. He had forgotten that the other could hear him. He had listened in on his internal debate.

"Do you see for yourself now? You would come to think the as me myself. He is but a waste of time and energy."

His leering tone made his skin prickle with heat. It was shameful that Yugi felt a course of something much darker through his veins. He swallowed hard. The boy was right; he knew that. He might not think in the exact same terms of time and energy…

But he would still be rather dismissive of it. His thoughts would only be occupied by the event for a small amount of time.

"You do not love him. You could  _never_ love him. You do not even truly care. You simply do not want to know that I have killed him. You would know and it would destroy you. Because, should you have the gall to tell someone, who might find it in their right mind to believe you?" he snarled. His laughter was loud, vicious. His eyes glittered. Yugi stared back at him blankly. He felt stripped and small beneath the gaze of those red eyes. It hurt to see so much of the things he hated about himself within that single pinpoint of black. "And let me remind you, boy, for you seem to be so terribly disillusioned. Some people are  _unable_ to change. It is not within their genetic makeup. Some of them have their paths laid within the darkness, full of destruction and death. You think that a serial killer can be reformed? Let me tell you that no matter the chances given, it would never happen. You think that a person obsessed with themselves will find love in another, a willingness to tend to their partner? No, you pathetic little boy. That would never happen. Because humans simply are not  _created that way_. And you are a fool to ever think otherwise."

He fell away for a single moment of silence. His eyes shone with laughter. His gaze flickered momentarily to the massive boy beneath the boy's feet. His red eyes narrowed into slits. The boy turned back to Yugi with a wide smirk. His lips curled back further, like a jeering animal.

"Tell me you love him, Yugi. Tell me how much you love him. Say it with meaning," he laughed in delight. He knew that the smaller teen could not do it. His mockery made Yugi's skin crawl. "Say it with such sincerity that I will  _feel_ it burn within  _my soul_ and I will  _release him_ , little one. Just say those three little words. Prove me  _wrong_."

It should have been so simple. He should have been able to do it. Saying he loved someone—even as despicable as Ushio—should have been easy. He should have been able to fake such sentiment. But the words clogged in his throat. And his mind rebelled against it.

And the boy knew it.

As Yugi's belly churned and hatred flared in his veins, the smaller teen glanced away. His eyes fell on the asphalt. He could not fight him now. The words would not come out. And it was clear that his efforts were pathetic at best.

"I do not think I can hear you, Yugi. Where was that righteousness you thought to throw at me so carelessly moments ago? Is it all gone already? Have you spread your efforts too thin? I thought for sure that there would be more effort put into such an argument. But I suppose you have come to the same realization as I have. That he is nothing but a waste of time and energy."

Ushio gargled again. The boy burst out laughing. His head snapped to look at his prey.

"Is there  _nothing_ sacred to you?" Yugi finally spat. His stomach tossed. He looked back up again. His irreverence shook him to the core. The statement caused the briefest gleam of interest to enter those red eyes. Yugi watched as his head turned to face him again. His voice was cool, curious.

"Like what? Another god?"

Yugi blinked, flustered. That was not exactly what he had been going for. But he supposed he would have to make it work. "Yes. Like…like a foundation for good behavior—a moral code. Do you believe in  _anything_?" he asked slowly. He narrowed his blue-violet eyes. The other boy considered him thoughtfully.

"I am a god. I believe in determining my own moral code."

_Well, there is something to work with then…_

"Okay, so what about punishment?"

"Punishment?"

"Like…rewarding or punishing behavior." He flinched when he heard Ushio gargle again. He was losing time. Eventually the red-eyed teen would grow tired of conversing with him. Then he would turn back to Ushio. And that would be the moment that he crushed his throat entirely. Something that makes you  _desire_ to be good."

"There is no heaven or hell and I see no reason to follow the laws of man or your god when our fate is the same regardless of our actions. I shall rot away as you should die, Yugi. Everyone is to disappear from existence at some point. Some just take longer than others and the circumstances of being dragged through the mud are different." He paused and turned his head back towards his prey. There he purred and pressed his weight against his throat once more. His eyes lit up brightly, amused and merciless. The sensation of his flesh squelching beneath his shoe was mesmerizing. "And I find great amusement in telling you that the truly righteous never have nor  _will_ they ever exist. And if they were ever to be given form among  _mortals_ , they would envy the damned."

Yugi blinked and shook his head slowly. A disturbing calm had come upon him, pushing away his alarm. He did not know if it was the boy or his own reluctant acceptance that perhaps he could not win. The knowledge stung but it was truthful. He had been taking a gamble in trying to prevent him. Now was no different than it had been moments before. The only change was that he had grown tired.

He wondered, looking at Ushio, if he deserved the right to exist in the first place. He had heard the various rumors. He had heard about him raping girls when he was only eight, how he picked them when they were two or three years younger than him. He had heard of how he grew up beating people to pulps in order to get to the top. And Yugi was not certain, but he felt right in thinking that the ritual from middle school still followed the huge teen today.

Yugi still remembered the first time he had seen the drawn outline of a little girl in the quad. It was done in chalk and spray paint. And in the center was always a pair of little girl's underwear. He remembered the story—that Ushio had raped her. In the entranceway to the school there was always the outline and the pair of underwear. Because that was where she had landed…when she had thrown herself from the roof…

He flinched. Did he truly deserve to live? The world could be so much better without people like him…

But who was he to make such a judgment?  
Yugi drew in a deep breath. "He's scum, yes. But that does not mean he has to  _die_ for it." He was muttering, because he could not find the strength to raise his voice. He was tired and worn now. The other boy's hatred and laughter scorched his skin. His eyes were boring into his skull. Yugi lifted his head, then looked at him. His expression was shaken and exhausted. He bit his lip. The other boy narrowed his eyes. "Please, just come back to the house with me. We can try to work something out…"

"…Work something out?" He drew each word out as if it were a question itself. His voice was cynical. He turned his head and stared at him more pointedly. His teeth were bared. His eyes were full of rage, burning with hate. "You really wish that I should wish to 'work something out'? I have blood to be spilled, not time to be played with so foolishly. And you most certainly are not going to play with me for much longer. I will not be the idiot to stay with you and allow himself to be caged like a tamed animal."

"I don't want to contain you," Yugi whispered slowly. He shook his head and blinked at him. The other boy snarled low in his throat. But Yugi couldn't help but want to smile. There was no chance in hell that he could ever capture and hold him hostage. The very idea was laughable. He did not want to keep him like that. He wanted to keep him for something else, but to speculate and contain him and hold him down was not it. He was well aware that his intentions were not the purest. In his head there was a split second lust which swept through him and pushed at Yugi's insides so forcefully it knocked the air from his lungs.

The aspect of secrecy made his skin tingle. He could not stop himself from desiring more. He knew he needed him. He needed to give and take…

"I don't ever want to contain you."

The red-eyed boy gave him a bored look. Then he reached down and jerked Ushio's arm further. The threads in his jacket tore completely. The senior screamed. His attacker purred at the sound of the blood that escaped. The way it drizzled down the side of his mouth made him purr louder.

_Perfect_.

"Yes,  _well_ ," the boy dismissed, smacking his lips together in clear dismissal, "I do not wish to go with you, regardless of what you wish to have happen between us."

"Please? I don't want to watch you kill someone," Yugi pleaded softly, gently. He prayed that somehow he would reach him for once. Every other attempt had fallen flat. But he hoped that maybe this one would somehow push further than the others. "Please…"

"Then you should leave."

"No, I don't want to leave you here either."

He gave Yugi a bored look. Then he straightened. He pulled his foot away, aiming for Ushio's ribs now. "Then stay," he said in a careless tone, "it makes little difference to me. But know that with your choice you forfeit all rights to complain of your situation later, boy."

Yugi opened his mouth. The boy stiffened. Then he spun, teeth bared. He lurched sideways. His teeth were glistening. His jaw snapped with a hideous chomping noise. Yugi lunged forward to tackle him. Alarm sparked through his entire body. Ushio attempted to swat him aside like a fly but missed. Yugi hit the boy hard enough to send them rolling. He snarled in his grip, howling with outrage. The knife whistled where it slashed through the air near his ear.

The boy threw him off violently. The snarl left his mouth again. Yugi hit the ground with a yelp. He picked his cheek off the asphalt again immediately. Then he rubbed at the aching red flesh. The red-eyed boy snarled. He started for his feet like a predator momentarily struck down. But Ushio had already regained his balance. The massive teen doubled over. He coughed up blood, spat angrily. Then he took off running.

The smaller of the two remainders breathed hard. It felt almost as if he had been running in a marathon. Had he really moved that quickly to tackle this boy? Then he lowered his eyes to the other boy. He was seated feet away, staring after Ushio. His fingers covered his right side. Yugi trembled. There was blood seeping through the fabric of his clothing, staining his fingers.

"I wasn't aware that gods could bleed," he quipped. His hands were shaking when he reached out to pull his fingers away to check on the wound. The movement was lightning fast. The boy knocked his head to the side with a smack. His ears rang. He nearly fell over from the impact. Yugi grunted at the pain. The other didn't blink. He only glared at the smaller teen furiously. His spot on the concrete did not change. Yugi straightened as he got to his feet.

He came closer to him. The other boy did not react. Then he reached out. The blow to his head knocked him back. He staggered a couple of steps, eyes wide. The pain made his head throb. The wound in his scalp tingled and split. The blood was warm. Lights exploded behind his eyes. He turned back to him, huffing. "Let me see it."

"Fuck you." The other snarled at him viciously. Then he wrinkled his nose. When Yugi reached again, he swatted him aside. He did not even twitch from the pain. The smaller teen swallowed thickly. The pain made his head spin. And his own left hand was starting to tingle from the force he put into the multiple backhands. Yugi's legs were weak as he straightened again. His eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed as he glared at him in annoyance. Both of them were breathing hard, eyes fierce as they scowled.

Yugi stepped forward again. The red-eyed teen narrowed his eyes. When he came a step closer, he lashed out. This time he caught him around the collar of his shirt. He knotted the fabric, dragging him forward. Then he shoved him backwards violently. Yugi hit the ground hard on his ass. He yelped, gaping at the other boy.

"You—you  _let_ him do this!"

"I did not let him do  _anything_! In fact, I think I let  _you_ nearly crush his throat, didn't I?" he snapped. Yugi hesitated, then moved closer to try to push his hand away to see the wound. This time he was pushed away by the shoulder. The force of it nearly wrenched his arm out of its socket. He cursed. But the sight of the effort put into that shove was enough to make his mind thrum with realization. The other boy was making no attempt whatsoever to get up. Horrified, he croaked, "How badly did he get you?"

He scoffed quietly but did not respond beyond that. Instead he turned away again.

"How  _badly_ did he  _stab_ you?" Yugi snapped in a growl from between his teeth. His glare sharpened at the other's disregard. He wanted to try again to remove his hand. But if he tried again, he knew he would be met with resistance. And he had no true ability to combat that. His stubbornness seemed to fuel the other's as well. Trying harder would only make him lash out once more.

His heart ached in his chest. There was a hideous burning in his side. But it was nothing compared to the true wound the other possessed. There was no way it matched the pain he must have been in. Not once had he moved his other hand. Not once had he tried for his feet again.

Yugi shook his head slowly. His frustration swelled for a moment. If he could only see it—but maybe there was a way to make the other work with him. He was in pain, after all. That ache could easily be fixed if he would just cooperate with him. "I can help—"

"Oh yes," the other drawled. He turned his head and laughed at him sardonically. His teeth flashed in the dim light, his eyes glowing with hatred. "Because I surely need  _your_ help, is that it?"

"Um, yes, actually, it is. You do need my help. Do you see your side? I know that you're bleeding—it's all over your fingers." He couldn't stop staring at it. His fingers were black against the darkness. The shadows were too thick to see any glimmer of light against the bloodied surfaces. "Why can't you just freaking tell me how deep it is? Then we can get you back to the house and I can bandage it—"

"And is there any true reason as to why I should choose to trust you now? You are the one who has  _imprisoned_ me here, you despicable brat. You are the one who has trapped me in such a pathetic form. I bleed now—and it is drawn by my  _own hand_. I  _bleed._  I have never bled before."

Yugi stared at him for a long moment. He struggled to think of words that could offer comfort or coax him to listen. "Please, I want to make sure that you're okay. I…" Now he paused and considered him. The other boy seemed ready to bite his head off. He looked as if the very idea of death by killing him amused him more than deterred him. He swallowed hard. His eyes were flashing with keen hatred and power. He searched rapidly for weakness.

His jaw was clenched. But it was only a matter of thought. If he so willed it, he would sink his teeth into his throat. It would kill them both, but he did not think the other boy was beyond such action now. His shoulders had risen. His bristle was defined. His defensive stature was highlighted with anger.

"Listen, you said it yourself. We need each other, remember? That means we should work together."

"I wish to rip your throat out. Would you with me to do that?"

Yugi bit his lap. Then he laughed, unable to stop himself. It was amazing that he was so unapologetic and confrontational. His voice was a sneer and full of hatred. And it made him smile as he shook his head. He stood over him now, head tilted. "No, but if you get up now we can get you back home"—his heart ached when that confused look crossed the other boy's face, his eyes widening and brows furrowing together—"to bandage that. We don't want you to bleed out or something, right?"

The sense of unfamiliarity which came upon the mention of "home" grew more abundant. The boy hesitated, staring up at him. His shoulders fell slightly. He was bewildered now more than angry. The confusion made him look small, childish, like a young boy lost in a world of adults. He tilted his head and Yugi felt his heart break and shatter.

"…Bleed out?"

He blinked and stared at him for a moment. Some part of him hoped that it was merely a joke that he asked such a question. But even in the strained light he could see it. And it did not help that he felt it as well. He was confused, undone by his incomprehension of a world of things which he could not make sense of.

Yugi swallowed hard. His heart was in fragments when he reached his hand out for his free one, waiting. "It's where you…die from loss of blood," he explained softly, gently. He could not smile, because the pain was too great. But the boy stared up at him, eyeing his hand suspiciously before turning to him with that same bewildered, childish expression.

Yugi felt dizzy for a moment. The boy's hands were covered in blood, both his own and Ushio's. Still, he did not pull his hand away, keeping it stretched out. His voice was still soft, quiet and gentle. "I am going to pull you to your feet. Can you grab my hand so I can do that or do you really plan to be that difficult?"

It was only as the words left his mouth that he realized the boy did not know what to do. He was lost and floundering. The world was unfamiliar and alien around him. And Yugi was a painful reminder of all of his misunderstandings and confusion. He did not know what bleeding out meant. He did not know why his hand was positioned in front of him. He could have assumed that he was going to hit him, lash out with the limb. He was, for all intents and purposes, lost. He did not know how to navigate the world around him. Because he didn't belong in it…

Yugi swallowed hard again.

Maybe it was the human interactions that he failed to understand. He was far too dangerous to be defenseless. He had made it completely on his own for the last week as it was, hadn't he? If he really did not know what human interactions meant and all that power he possessed wasn't something borrowed from the Puzzle, did that truly make him a god?

Or was it simply that he was from the Puzzle and from there it had bestowed him that immense strength?

"Where did you  _come_ from?" he breathed out. The boy stared up at him. Then he scoffed angrily. His hand slipped into his, clasping tightly. Yugi braced himself and then reached for his other hand. He avoided his wrist, pulling him to his feet gently. His eyes widened, surprised, as he got to his full height again. The boy seemed to possess far more weight than he had initially assumed he might.

"I fail to see why that should concern you in any way," he snapped fiercely; twenty minutes later he was seated at the kitchen table. Yugi had attempted periodically to prod at the wound on the walk there, only to be shoved away each time. Not once had he removed his fingers from the wound. It felt good to apply pressure to the surface of it. He even thought that perhaps the bleeding had slowed from the touch.

The red-eyed teen ignored him as the smaller went about digging through the cabinets for a first-aid kit. He was prattling about something or other, something about his childhood, but he could hardly pay Yugi any attention. His side still burned, though the ache was dulling faintly. He could not tell if it was a good thing or a bad one.

He turned his head, looking up only when Yugi let out a triumphant noise. The smaller teen hurried over, digging through the little box in his hand. The outsides were white, with bright red handles. He wondered if his eyes were that shade. Yugi grabbed a spray bottle and some gauze while pulling out a couple of rolls of white tape.

"Okay, lift your shirt."

A trickle of alarm trailed down his spine. He bore his teeth, voice sharp and full of seething hatred. "Why the hell should I do that?" he demanded harshly. He narrowed his gaze into slits. Yugi blinked, confused, and raised his gaze to his from where he had been looking at his bloodied hand.

"So I can get to see the wound and clean it." He furrowed his brows and frowned faintly at the taller boy. Confused, the red-eyed boy blinked and tilted his head, staring at him with a widened, puzzled gaze.

" _Clean_ it?" he echoed faintly. He blinked again, staring at the other boy. Yugi frowned at him for a moment. Then he squeezed his eyes shut tightly. His fingers ran through his hair. The smallest prickle of discomfort and irritation bit at their insides.

How was he meant to do this exactly? How was he supposed to help him if he did not understand  _anything_ except for that of his own assumptions about Yugi himself? How was he supposed to reach him if he thought that he had brought him here and bound him as if he had purposely cursed him and brought him there to bleed him dry?

"So that it doesn't get infected."

He said it quietly and his stomach knotted. The confusion flared hollowly throughout his entire body. His skin twitched with uneven jerks of tension. The puzzlement made his marrow cold.

" _Infected_?"

Yugi could have banged his forehead against the table. But the action would have both offended and startled the boy. And the whole thing would have been counterproductive. If it were anything less seriously, he would not have minded taking the time to explain to him. If he cared to learn it, who was he to keep him from doing so? But now was not the time.

The anxiety was biting at his heels. Time was of the essence. He remembered reading on sites when he was cleaning his own wounds from various beatings that leaving broken skin too long without examination would kill the tissue. The tissue would begin to blacken and fall away.

"Please, just lift your shirt."

Yugi was not sure if it was the begging tone or if it was his desperation. But something pushed the other boy to move. He pulled the hem of his shirt up to allow him to see the wound. The smaller teen squeezed his eyes shut momentarily. His head spun, undone by the sight of the torn flesh and blood which continued from the split of his golden-bronze skin. He swallowed away the urge to cringe. Then he opened his eyes again and focused on it.

He was not squeamish around blood. Or, at least, he had not been when it was his own. He had been able to deal with bad cuts and aches within minutes of finding them. When he didn't always feel them, it usually meant that he was too exhausted to fathom the pain. Then he would clean them, sometimes stitch them, and ignore them for as long as it took for them to heal.

But the sight of someone else's wound—and one  _caused by him,_ as indirectly as it was—unnerved him horribly.

"Does your own side not hurt?" the other boy finally spat. A long minute had passed as Yugi studied the torn flesh. He appeared to need stitches, he realized. And Yugi had such limited knowledge of how to do it—he'd only done it once, maybe twice tops—that it made him swallow a groan. He had cleaned blood off his clothes, stitched maybe two deep wounds, and nursed a broken rib back to health on his own to keep his bullying a secret. His mother and grandpa had had so much on their plates without his physical wounds being brought to attention…

He chewed his lip. He'd have to look it up…

It was only when he felt that wave of intense impatience in his stomach that he faltered. He blinked, then raised his eyes to the other boy's burning red gaze. He was glaring at him, beyond unimpressed with his silence. He blinked again, backpedaling mentally to find the words that the other boy had spoken before. He had asked him a question, hadn't he?

"I've been more focused on you than I have myself," Yugi explained. His voice was quiet, almost a whisper. He shook his head slightly and frowned, reaching out to touch it. The other boy snarled softly, his skin twitching, but he did not push him away. Yugi opened it slightly further, peering at the bloodied tissue beyond. It looked rather deep. A burning, dull ache hit his insides as he continued for a split second. Then he withdrew his fingers and leaned against the table uncomfortably. "If I focus hard enough, I can ignore it when I'm hurting."

The other boy stayed silent for a moment. Then a distant sense of wonder crept into his voice. "Is that healthy?" he asked slowly. Yugi looked up, then faltered. In the other boy's mind were images of children crying over wounds, of elders complaining bitterly about wounds. The words dwindled into nothingness, and so too did the pictures.

"Probably not. Pain is supposed to be your body telling you to get help, but if you're the source of it anyways, then I'm helping myself some too, right?" he mumbled. He forced a small, gentle smile onto his face and glanced at him through his lashes before turning back to the wound. He continued to look it over, then reached out a second time to ease it apart slightly and peer inside of the split skin once more. Luckily, now that he truly paid it attention, it did not appear as deep as he had originally feared.

It was not something to be taken lightly, but the relief nearly knocked Yugi to his knees. The boy watched him, curious and thoughtful with wonder. It had to be at least a few inches deep, but at least five across from the awkward angle in which Ushio had initiated the attack. He shook his head. It didn't matter. Yugi pulled away from him, heading off to grab his laptop.

The other boy grunted softly, a questioning noise, but Yugi did not bother to answer. He opened the laptop when he came to his side again, turning it on and setting it next to the boy's hip. The fan blew warm air on his clothing and the sensation calmed him somehow. Yugi started up the search engine and the other boy watched him, curious and studious of his movements.

"So…this might sting a little…" he commented in warning. He looked up at him again, starting to shake the antiseptic while the engine loaded for him. The other boy made a soft scoffing noise in the back of his throat and Yugi smiled faintly. He shook his head before making sure to shake it more thoroughly.

The boy angled his head to take in the sight of the screen beside him. His eyes were curious, bewildered, and Yugi could feel his attention from the corner of his gaze as it burned into his skin. He was not willing to let him out of his sight, he realized with a small tug of his lips to equate a bigger smile.

"Anyways, don't lower your shirt at any point until I tell you to, okay? Or—you know, you could just take it off altogether if you wanted."

He looked so offended by the comment that Yugi almost worried he might get up and wander off before he got the chance to clean and stitch the wound. But the boy surprisingly snorted after a moment, moving to keep the shirt raised. The wound was exposed and he ignored his advice to take it off completely.

Yugi turned away, typing on the computer with slow fingers. His left hand was not his dominant but he was good at using it for typing at least. His right hand worked to spray at his wound. He glanced back again, flushing faintly. The boy was glaring at his hand now, scowling.

"Does it sting?"

"Do not laugh at me," the boy spat angrily. His head snapped around, their eyes locking. His gaze burned through his entire being with hatred so intense that he nearly flinched away from him altogether. "You are the reason I am in such a predicament. You have no justification to laugh at me, you bastard."

He hadn't planned to laugh at him. But that was the last thing on his mind anymore.

"I still don't understand," Yugi muttered. He shook his head and put the spray away, taking one of the rags next to him and heading to the sink. The boy's eyes were on him. The water faucet squeaked when he turned the knob. Yugi returned seconds later, the rag warm, as he began to gently rub away some of the crushed blood which had caked around the torn flesh. He picked at his hands. Then he stretched them out to start wiping it away from the crevices of his skin there as well. There were no small scratches or anything else to be found there. Yugi nearly sighed in relief. Then he thought wryly that this type of focus put his effort in school to shame. "I have no idea how I brought you here. And what the hell were you even  _doing_ in the alley when Ushio came up to me? You weren't there before. And I…I haven't seen you in a week…"

"How would you know if I was there or not?" the boy sneered with a roll of his red eyes. "I could have simply been following you the entire time."

"Don't insult me," he commented amiably, giving him a small smile before turning back to the computer for instructions. He wished momentarily that the other would allow him to take him to the hospital. But he was not so naïve that he would ever put that thought into motion or take it seriously by any means. It was all too clear that he would never allow Yugi to do so. "I can feel you when you're around."

He froze for a moment. Then his voice came out curious, maybe a little unhappy. His brows furrowed and Yugi glanced up at him as he spoke in a somewhat mystified tone. "You can feel it when I am near you?" he inquired softly.

"Yeah. It's…almost like having a blanket over my skin—or an extra jacket or something."

The admission made him blush faintly. He sounded childish.

"…That does not scare you?"

Yugi blinked and looked at him more fully, startled by the idea. "No. Why would it?" He faltered and searched his face quickly. "What, um…what do I feel like to you?"

The other boy stayed quiet for a long minute. Then he sighed softly. He shifted his weight. Yugi frowned and looked back towards his wound for a split second. "Cold…"  _Like metal chains_ , he added silently, nearly baring his teeth.

"All right, so the safe feeling isn't shared then," he commented. He was teasing him but his lips were rapidly tugging into a frown as the other narrowed his eyes at the statement. "Am I really that big a threat to you?"

"Yes," he snapped angrily, and now he bore his teeth. "You are."

"Is that why you've been avoiding me lately?"

He blinked, his eyes widening faintly. He looked and sounded slightly miserable. The idea made his skin crawl. Why should his absence bother him in any way? He narrowed his eyes and stared into his gaze, the red of his irises brilliant with annoyance and frustration. "One of the reasons, yes," he commented softly, in a tone that was almost wistful. "But you would do the same if you were in my shoes."

Yugi looked at him for a long minute and then lowered his eyes to the laptop screen once more. "Yeah, probably," he agreed with a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat. He swallowed hard and tilted his head. "Although, if I really needed someone, I think I would rather kiss up to them have them mad at me, don't you think?"

"No. I believe that they should take what I am willing to give them before I shove it down their fucking throat."

Yugi burst out laughing. He shook his head. The fact that he was even encouraging his terrible mood surprised him but he could not help but smile wider. His unapologetic nature made him smile more. "You really are something else, aren't you?" he teased, snickering and glancing at him sideways with a sly grin.

"I am a god. I am sure your species does not normally come across them."

"Are you really though?" The amusement was gone from his tone. He turned his head completely, staring at him, thoughtful and confused. Was he truly a god? And how was that even possible if he was? Did he know?

He had to know about it than he did, right?

"I believe myself to be under the process of punishment for whatever reason," he murmured in a low voice, his tone dry and bitter. He rolled his dark eyes. "Maybe I did something wrong…"

Yugi hesitated, unsure of himself. Should he say anything? But to leave the conversation like it was seemed more unnerving than even offending the other boy.

"Do you…know what you did?"

"Do  _you_?"

He blinked in confusion, furrowing his brows. How the hell would he know?

"No…?"

"Then shut the fuck up."

Yugi couldn't help it when his face split into a wide grin. He turned back to the laptop and looked back over some of the instructions once more before leaving the room again. The red-eyed teen leaned over to stare at the screen in confusion. The instructions said something about suture threads. There was something about a list of kits that came with them, then the use of what was needed for what part of the body.

"Holding this is rapidly becoming rather tedious. How much time do you think it will take you to finish?"

Yugi faltered. He had not realized he would notice he had entered the room again. The second kit in his hands was bright red with a white symbol in the middle. The other boy cast a distracted glance at it.

"I don't really know. It's pretty deep, though thankfully it's not as bad as I had originally thought," he commented with a small shrug. When he glanced up at him again, the other seemed placated with such an answer. Yugi could not tell if it was the relief he himself felt or if it was simply that the other boy did not truly care much more. "You could always just take your shirt off—"

"I would rather not," he spat shortly.

"Okay, so then slip your arm out of that sleeve and let your shirt stay bunched up on your shoulder," Yugi instructed in a soft voice. He nodded at him in encouragement, smiling faintly, and then turned away again. The instructions had moved slightly. Had the other boy managed to work the keyboard or the navigation pad? He turned his head and searched his face for a moment with a slight frown. The other boy did not bother to hide the satisfaction in his expression. Yugi smiled faintly and turned away, scrolling up again. "Stay still for me, okay?"

"Is there any choice?"

Yugi paused and then turned back to him. His smile was gone, a frown replacing it as he bit his lip. "Not if you don't want it to get infected," he answered quietly. But it was clear that the boy still failed to understand the idea of such a predicament. So Yugi shook his head—he'd explain it another day, he supposed—and turned away to open the new box. He grabbed some of the materials, soaking a couple in some disinfectant as shown in the diagram. Then he wiped at the wound with gentle fingers.

He had perfected the right amount of pressure to be applied from working on his own wounds. He could feel the pain that came with the action. His own side started to burn and he winced. His skin felt as if it were peeling off. Yugi almost apologized, resisting the urge to flinch away and try to withdraw from such a sensation altogether. How the other teen did not so much as blink was beyond him. Yugi looked at him, shuddering with pain.

"I suppose you feel it now, yes?"

Yugi ignored the snide tone, licking his lips. "Yes."

" _Good_."

"You know, you're really rude," he muttered. He was unable to keep the smile off his face or out of his voice. It was odd to him that he could find such a trait to be so beautiful in someone. He had always hated rude people, and had strived to be as polite as he could growing up. It was harder when he was in middle school and the bullying started. But it was easy to maintain the persona when he was not around people who openly disliked him.

But it was refreshing to see such a display in this other boy. He could not miss the humor of his snarky responses or the way he seemed so inclined to verbally lash out at him. Yugi smiled and shook his head. Then he glanced at the instructions again. He took in the rest of the information, scrolling through the page, and turned back, looking up at his face. The red-eyed boy studied him curiously as Yugi worked to thread the needle in his fingers.

"It's kind of hilarious."

His admission made the other boy blink. Then he ignored Yugi as if he had never spoken in the first place. But his eyes were focused on him entirely as the small teen inserted the needle into his skin. There was a fresh prick of pain, oddly numb and almost nonexistent, shared between them. But the other boy failed to even care as Yugi pulled it more tightly, weaving across his skin again and tugging the suture into place. The red eyes traced his every movement until Yugi looked up, checking for pain or anything to indicate discomfort.

But the stare that welcomed him was blank.

"You are going to get blood on your fingers."

Yugi blinked and looked down again. His lips tugged into a frown momentarily. The blood had begun to soak his fingers completely. He had not even noticed it before the other had spoken of it. A momentary bubble of frustration came over his senses as he let out a deep breath. Why had he not assumed that could happen?

"Whatever, it's fine." He was mumbling as he grabbed the rag once more and dabbed some to soak up the red liquid. "I'll deal with it when I get the chance."

The stitches were far more important anyways. He worked on keeping them even and neat, zigzagging across the golden-bronze skin. He glanced again at the screen before trying it off and clipping the loose thread with his teeth. For a moment he was frozen. The taste on his tongue startled Yugi and his eyes widened in shock. His skin heated, his cheeks bright with a stunned blush. Then he quickly looked away again.

"What. The. Fuck?" The other boy was glaring at him. His nose wrinkled in disgust and he shook his head slowly, almost disdainfully.

"What? I forgot to grab the scissors," Yugi muttered. He rolled his eyes at the astonished expression on the other boy's face. Then he blinked in confusion at the shock that lingered in the outer edges of his irises. The boy looked slightly disgusted, but curiosity was quick to follow and the disbelief which colored his face unnerved the smaller teen for a moment. Yugi watched him as he tilted his head to the side and studied him pointedly, until the small teen squirmed and furrowed his brows. "What?"

"It…does not…burn?"

Yugi shook his head after a moment. He could not understand why such a question would even leave the other boy's mouth. Why would his blood burn him? He frowned and tilted his head, studying him again. "No. It's a strange taste, but no, it doesn't burn," he said quietly.

"Disgusting or…?"

"Actually, you taste kind of like blueberry pomegranate pepper jelly. It's sweet yet tart, with a little edge of heat. You're like…fire on my tongue," Yugi murmured. The answer made the other boy's head snap up, eyes wide and startled as he stared at him. Yugi forced a small smile onto his face, ignoring the shock and astonishment on the red-eyed teen's face. He grabbed some gauze, applying it on top before taping the corners down and then running over the diagonal lines of tape with straight edges along the small square of cotton.

He went about packing them back into the red box. He rearranged them twice in a bid to keep his fingers busy. Then he tucked them back nicely when he noticed how comfortably snug they were. Yugi jumped when the other recoiled away from his sharply. The taller teen was breathing in roughly, heavily, and the snarl came low in his throat. Yugi looked at him in slight amazement and bewilderment.

Then he lowered his eyes and narrowed them into slits.

The Puzzle? What the hell was his obsession with his Puzzle?

"Do you want it or not?" he finally snapped. He looked up with wary eyes, studying his face. His expression was cold and pale, the color washed from his skin for a moment. His red eyes slowly shot to his face again, burning into his, narrowing into slits in a mimicry of Yugi's own. "You can have it if you want—"

"No, I cannot  _have_ it," he spat, frustration and hatred seeping into his cold voice. "I do not have a desire to own it either."

Yugi started to snarl at him in frustration. Then he stopped short. The air was charged, frustration and resentment clouding his thoughts. It burned between them in violent bursts of heat and pressure. For a moment Yugi could not understand why he glanced at the Puzzle again. Was it the cause of it all? Or was the boy just fascinated with it for some reason beyond his understanding?

He recognized the resentment which cloaked the air, for it was shared between them equally. The anger was there, sparking and lingering, shared just abundantly. Yugi did not even know that he truly had his own reason to be angry. The boy had simply looked at the Puzzle, so why should he be upset with something so simple as that? But then, had he not attempted to steal it formerly? The night Yugi had accidentally caused his nosebleed, hadn't he tried to take it?

"Gods, this never ends, does it?" he muttered playfully. He wanted to engage some kind of conversation with the red-eyed boy but all he gained was a narrow gaze and a slightly pensive look. Yugi drew in a breath, then offered him a grin that was friendly and wide. "All these shared emotions and stuff? I'm kind of…concerned about it, to be honest…"

"Humph. So that is what concerns you," the other drawled in an annoyed tone. He rolled his eyes and glared at the tile further into the small kitchen but did not turn away completely. "It is not the fact that you are standing in front of someone that wishes more than anything to kill you."

"Yeah? You want to kill me? Then why haven't you done it already?"

"I think you should have to be blind to miss my reasoning to keep you alive."

"Right, because killing me would kill you, right? Is that honestly the only answer you have for that?" Yugi snorted, starting to tuck the first-aid kick back into the cabinet. His eyes flickered as they settled on the bottle of aspirin inside of it. Maybe he should use a couple of those tonight. He hoped to the gods that the wound on his head would not open again. He reached back to touch it but the skin was sore and crusted.

He would need to ask Mai for makeup. He would say that he had an unfortunate run-in with one of his bullies. Then he would keep quiet about the details of it. She wouldn't ask him too many questions or push too hard. She had helped him cover a lot of bruises when he was younger.

"No, it is the mere fact that I have attempted such several times already and it has failed to work."

"Yeah? And have you really put any effort into it?"

"Apparently not enough."

Yugi opened his mouth to tease him. He pulled the small bottle of medicine out with a grin, but looked over to find the kitchen deserted but for himself. He let out a soft sigh and looked at the bottle again.

* * *

He had to blink several times and rub his eyes dramatically to actually realize that he was not seeing things. Yugi had thought that perhaps he had hurt his head too badly the day before. The wound had reopened, after all, and the blood had been hard to get out of his pillowcase before anyone noticed. The hit from Ushio had left his ears ringing the night before, a stubborn pain that he had been unable to shake. So it would not have surprised him to be wrong in his eyesight now as well.

The teen shook his head in mystification before offering a small smile. But the expression did not change and Yugi felt confusion welling inside of him now.

The other boy appeared oddly as if he were plagued by guilt. He seemed sad and confused, more than slightly upset. He was standing in front of the door in front of him, waiting as he watched him. His red eyes were locked on him, slightly lowered so that he was studying his irises rather than his pupils. Yugi tilted his head as he approached him.

Yugi blinked, frowning as he got within a few inches of him. His mouth opened to say hello or to ask him if he was okay. He wanted to ask how his side was, if he needed anything else. But the other boy merely ducked his head. His hand moved inside of his pocket, plucking something out, and then he held it towards him.

Yugi hesitated for a long moment, confused and unhappy. The silence nipped at his insides and left him confused. He licked his lips and reached out to take the object from his slim fingers. He almost just put it in his pocket to coax him into the house, but the surface was smooth and soft. And it occurred to him, looking down, that it was the Dark Magician card the boy had torn in half. It was taped together almost perfectly, little to be seen of the original tear that had ruined it formerly…

Yugi furrowed his brows, frowning. Then he looked up and licked his lips awkwardly. "Um…thank you," he whispered, blinking again. He hoped his softer tone, gentler edges, might make the other look up. But when he did, it was because he was too exhausted to avoid his gaze anymore. "I honestly…forgot that I hadn't picked that up when I left the park after hitting you…"

He tried to make the last sentence a joke. But the vacant look on the taller boy's face made him shiver. The air seemed to ripple and freeze over as they faced each other. But the other boy failed to raise his head entirely.

"Here," he offered, gesturing inside, "you can come inside. I was hoping to look at your cut anyways…"

He shifted his weight and Yugi thought for a moment that he might nod. Or perhaps he would start after him if he opened the door again. But instead he moved forward a step, then walked past him. He started down the street in long strides, so fast that it was bewildering that he was hardly any taller than Yugi himself. The small teen turned around to watch him go, gripping the card between his fingers tightly.

He chewed his cheek as his look-alike's form disappeared around the corner.

Why he failed to give chase was a mystery to him.

Instead the small teen turned to go back inside.

And, hours later, Yugi found himself waking in the middle of the night. The room was empty aside from himself. When he sat up and turned on the lamp, the lacking quality seemed to flare and press upon him forcefully. A hollow pang in his chest made him frown and he took in the sky blue of his walls, the slope of the ceiling, the general overall tiny size of it, and bunched his limbs together. But the action offered him no comfort. The lack of company wore on him painfully.

It was far too lonely, too cold now. He hated the feeling. Everything seemed terribly off now. His expectations had risen, as if he might see the other boy more often. His visits had seemingly been so frequent that now he felt his absence like a missing limb. Yugi had expected him to show up tonight. When he had handed over the card, he had assumed it a promise that he would see him later.

He shivered and closed his eyes. He bunched the comforter up and tugged it further over his shoulders. A soft sigh escaped his lips in the darkness.

He didn't think he could get used to the idea that the other boy would not be around. His absence was sore and aching, raw around the edges. At some point in the small time of their interactions, despite the hideous fights which always came about, he had grown increasingly  _used_ to it. It felt like someone was stabbing him through the gut whenever the boy was no there to share the same space as him now.

That look on his face haunted him. Yugi shook his head slowly. He had seemed almost tiny, guilty, confused—perhaps even  _miserable_?—and he felt sick. Had he been hurt? Was he okay now? Was the wound bothering him?

Yugi swallowed hard and bit his cheek. His mind immediately spiraled back to the idea of what could have possibly happened to return the card to him in the first place. What was it that had drawn him back over to him like that? He had been hoping to run into him to be able to look over his wound. But the card had been a startling unknown factor that he had not counted on at all. It had, in all actuality, never crossed his mind that the taller teen might have kept it after he had left it behind like that.

He glanced at the nightstand. Then he pulled the card out from under where he had rested it beneath the Puzzle. He took it into his hands, thumbing the tape, feeling the smoothness and the chill it possessed, his skin crawling at the contact. The card itself was rather worn out, not to the point of visibility, but it was not as smooth and crisp as the others. It was older and warmer to his fingers, some of the newness worn away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the last chapter of Part I~


	9. Chapter IX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: Cursing should be relatively mild but sometimes grows a little more at times, Season 0 Yami...and he's a little more unhinged than usual, so keep that in mind.  
> Note: There are mentions of blood, some graphic images of death, sensual moments and feelings, touches of violence/abuse  
> Update Schedule: Since I’ve already completed and posted this story on ff, I am going to try to update it weekly with the edits around updating on ff as well.  
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer’s block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it is appreciated. Please and thank you.

Part II

Chapter IX

“Dude, Mai is fucking _amazing_!” Joey exclaimed, excited. He grabbed Yugi around the shoulders and rubbed his knuckles forcefully over his scalp. The smaller teen hissed and squirmed, scalp burning and his hair tangling, and tried to put on a believable smile. He had not been paying attention in the first place and the attack had come almost seemingly from nowhere.

The blond had been prattling on about Mai since school had let out two hours before. It did not help that Yugi had barely even seemed to realize that the day had passed in the first place. It had taken so long—almost three times its usual rate—to get from one class to the next. At one point he had assumed the loneliness from the other boy’s absence and his own frustration was going to make it one huge, eternal experience.

But Joey had barely been able to contain himself until the last bell rang. He had been so excited out of his mind to talk about her that Yugi had simply followed him like a lost puppy. He had listened to him around sipping his cherry soda while Joey guzzled his grape. He had listened around playing a few games, commenting where necessary and staring at the screen when he grew flustered.

When they had played against each other, Joey had gotten so sidetracked that Yugi had beaten his characters completely in only a handful of attacks. Then he would sit and wait until the blond actually noticed about five minutes later. Throughout one of the kung fu games Yugi had ducked his head behind his monitor, rolling his eyes, and Joey had given him a _complete retelling of their conversation_. He had gone on about how she had video-chatted with him because she had gone to the states for a little while with her parents. It was only going to be two weeks and Joey apparently couldn’t stand it.

Yugi had barely resisted groaning that he already knew that. Mai had told him that herself two days before. Her parents had been going to L.A. for a small week vacation since her dad had been planning it for months ahead of time. It had been worked out to the most miniscule of points and Mai wouldn’t even miss any important school assignments or tests. 

At first it had been seven days. Then somehow it had stretched into fourteen. Yugi wouldn’t have even claimed surprise if it became a month. He had only been mildly startled because he had forgotten his aunt and uncle’s likeliness to go on vacations.

The small teen had absorbed all of this information. And then he had filtered back the exact comments he knew that the blond wanted to hear. Then he had fallen silent when Joey continued his conversation. Their snack at Burger World had been very nearly silent on his own behalf save a few answers to questions that Joey asked him. And the blond had rather elegantly sidestepped noticing them and calling him out on it.

He did not think he had noticed in the first place, so he didn’t have the room to call him out, but the blond was like a bloodhound sometimes. When he realized something was wrong, he normally demanded an explanation. He might have just assumed Yugi was tired and so he was not bothering too much with conversation at the moment. After all, Yugi had hardly done anything but mope all day at school…

He wondered if the others thought he was depressed. The thought had almost made him want to wrinkle his nose. But Tea and Tristan had simply acted as if nothing was wrong and Joey had been too excited to really notice. So he hoped none of them had any ideas about trying to figure out if he was unhappy or not. He hoped that they very seriously assumed he was just tired.

He had been disgusted earlier, walking at Joey’s side, something about himself completely unnerved and upset. It had become far more abundant in the middle of their lunch at Burger World but it had been beneath his skin like the blood in his veins the entire time. It had been more or less unnoticeable until they had taken a seat at the booth together. And then he had found himself squirming in his seat around eating his burger.

He had not seen the red-eyed boy in weeks—almost a month, in all actuality. Every day he had grown more and more upset. He did not know where he was. He did not know if he was okay. And it had begun to make his head spin and his heart ache in his chest.

It was unnerving to realize he was so attached to this other boy. He had no idea when or how it had happened in the first place either. The short amount of time left him reeling. But at the same time he was not even sure he should attempt justifying it. What it came down to was whatever it was that held them together so tightly.

And that was primal, fierce, a powerful drive which lingered beneath his skin and so the other boy’s as well.

Who was dumb enough to question and examine something like that?

It seemed more like a death wish to attempt that.

The effects of the tie between them were huge as it was.

Since he had been left alone, he had woken every night in the middle of the night. And he’d instantly think to himself that the other boy was there, that he was going to speak to himself from some corner of the room. And he’d be pathetically hopeful, waiting, only to have it crushed again when he realized the chill was his air conditioning or the window was still completely shut.

On those rarer occasions, when he was either particularly hopeful or perhaps pathetically lonely, he would get to his feet and open the window a crack. It made no sense to him when he considered it in the light of day. It was not as if opening the window would summon him to his side like those beacons used for superheroes. But it had always seemed internal and inviting. Hopefully it was even clear to the other boy that if he wanted to, he could slip into the room any time…

But then, he knew he didn’t need an entrance like that to begin with.

The boy did seem to be a mass of nothingness. In fact, more often than not, Yugi equated him more to emotions than he did to physical features now. He was seething rage and bitterness. When he gave him more human characteristics, he was muscles that twisted and snarled beneath golden-bronze skin.

But it still felt good to open the window.

And he did think of it as some kind of strange signal, as pathetic as it was.

He got worked up far too often now. Without him around, every other thought was that of near panic. What if he wasn’t okay? What if something had happened? Would he know if he was hurt? Would he still feel it if they weren’t in close proximity to each other?

It spiked hideously whenever he touched the Puzzle. Then the panic was tenfold and he was seconds away from chasing after him—or trying to anyways. He knew without a doubt that if the other did not want to be found, he wouldn’t. And he would have to remind himself of that constantly.

He remembered the anxiety from when he was working on the Item as well. He had felt it and cradled it and tried his hardest to get rid of it when he was younger. And he recalled stories from his mom and grandpa that he had often woken in the middle of the night and gone searching for it. And when he couldn’t work on it any longer he would pace the house like some kind of lost spirit. He had far too much energy and nowhere to direct it. Other times he had worked until he couldn’t any longer and spent hours holed up in his room playing games until school rolled around.

“Joey, come on, let go already,” he whined. The tone was one he had perfected a while back—somewhat disgruntled but falsely amused all the same. He squirmed and struggled in his grip. He knew he wouldn’t get away until the blond let go; he was like a pit bull when he got a proper grip on something.

“Your hair doesn’t even _change_!” the blond laughed out loud. The smaller boy blushed and shot him a playful glare, scowling at him. He squirmed again and this time Joey released him so that he could run his fingers through his hair. It helped him to keep him from analyzing himself at that moment. Because, despite his blush, he realized that the embarrassment that should have come with it was nonexistent. It was completely void.

“Whatever. Don’t you have to run to the hospital anyways?” he commented. He gestured down the street in mock annoyance and Joey’s eyes grew thrice their usual size. The blush had faded from Yugi’s cheeks when he turned back to him and cocked a brow. A smirk tugged desperately at his lips when he saw his startled expression. “Serenity is waiting for you, _remember_?”

“Aw, _fuck_!”

This time Yugi could feel it when he burst out laughing. Joey took off down the street without a second glance. He was shouting something that resembled a farewell but Yugi wasn’t paying it any attention.

Instead he rolled his eyes, smiling, and turned to walk again. A couple of cars passed by him, humming softly until they began to fade from view. The small teen moved around one of the bakeries, the glass plates of window larger than in both width and height by what seemed like a foot of space. He didn’t pay them any attention. The smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies made his mouth water, however.

But that wasn’t what made him turn his head.

Something had moved in his peripheral.

It could have been a single stab of light. It could have been that he moved a certain way by accident. But it made him jump and turn, startled by the sight of it.

The reflection that stared back at him caused his breath to stop. He didn’t think when he reached out to touch it. His hands were pressed against the glass, his eyes wide and blinking in shock. For the smallest of seconds he almost thought—and _hoped fervently_ —that the glass might fold into something else. Then he could press into it, pass through it, and step into something that shouldn’t have existed.

If he could force himself into the image displayed on the glass…

It was marred only by the small beams of light from the sun overhead, sweeping through the reflection. He hated that. But then he backed up just enough to consider the picture more clearly. Maybe there was a hint of some kind in there that might lead him to the other boy…

The sudden crash of adrenaline nearly knocked his feet out from under him. Excitement made his heart pound rapidly in his chest. A momentary flare of emotion made his body tingle and his blood race. He took in the harsh chill of the glass, where it flared against his palms and seemed to bite his skin. He reveled in it, pressing his hands more pointedly against it until the cold seemed to numb his nerves altogether.

He thought, somewhere vaguely, in the back of his mind, that someone might come out and tell him to take his hands off the glass. The little bakery was pristine on the outside, almost as much as it was on the inside. But no one seemed to notice the oddity.

Yugi turned his head, looking around. He had to be close, right?

He scanned the area for those dangerous red eyes, sharp and exotic and fierce like those of a true predator’s. He scanned for the gleaming and dancing lights within that beautiful gaze, the shadows that left so much room for emotion that it was terrifying.

He searched for goldenrod bangs and lightning bolt streaks in masses of black red-crowned hair belonging to a person with the most beautiful shade of skin he had ever seen. He thought of the golden-bronze tone, so deep and gorgeous that it looked like the baked sands of the deserts of Egypt.

He looked for clothes so much like his, shades darker and lying on a build that was taller and somewhat skinnier than his own.

And immediately he sought out the sight of the bloodstain on the right of the lean figure, somewhere near the bottom of a ribcage that he had to admit looked a little too bony.

He searched for a whole minute. But he found nothing but the ever-present insistence in his mind that he was nearby. Yugi felt his presence like a blanket, though not as keenly as he usually did. And his mind raced, telling him that he would come face to face with him again if he only bothered to move fast enough.

He tried to picture a place where he might find him. But he had interacted with him so few times outside of his own room that it seemed impossible. His mind drew rapidly at blanks and he sighed softly under his breath with frustration.

And with that realization, his hope began to diminish as well. The thought was smoldering, his stomach dropping as discouragement crept through him.

A sudden thought flitted through his mind, almost like a drifting breeze. It took him only a second to recognize it. Then he took off running, energy flooding his limbs momentarily.

He turned a corner. It was muscle memory guiding him rather than conscious thought. His mind was racing again. The sound of his sneakers against the asphalt made his ears ring. Blood pounded through him with the power to nearly deafen him. His instincts were buzzing in his head, leading him. In the first time in what felt like forever, he could trust them completely. He felt the primal tug in his blood. It built like heat and burst with flashes of electricity beneath his skin.

Absolute certainty made him move faster. His mind was lagging with the task of figuring out where the boy was hidden. But every part of him was humming now. He _was_ going to see him again. There was no question of it.

Yugi came across the park out of breath. It felt as if a freight train had found its way into his chest. His lungs felt tight and trampled. He spent a moment trying to make his sides feel less painful. But his ribs ached and stung as beneath his skin when he breathed. He felt as if his skin were being poked with needles. He did not think he had ever been so impossibly exhausted before in his life.

He doubled over for a moment. Sparks raced through his nerves and his blood heated. He felt as if he were alight with fire. He snickered and his lips tingled with the urge to grin like a schoolboy.

He took in shallow breaths. Then he turned his head. The Puzzle heated momentarily against his abdomen. It was light and comfortable. His head was buzzing again. Approval and relief surged through him.

It felt, in that moment, almost as if the boy himself were guiding him there. His feet continued forward, something soft and gentle tugging at his instincts to persuade his movements. He had no conscious control of his movements any longer. He only seemed to control his breathing. His legs were carrying him as swiftly as possible. He was covering the distance between them in long strides.

He came to him at first in a pleasant chill. It was soft and distant. The winter air cushioned it, embracing it further. A sense of displaced security crept through his system. His blood was warmer than ever. The air was frosty and cold. His face ached only minutely.

He thought he heard a noise. It was quite possibly a small breath or a brief exhale. Maybe it was even a sharp snarl that was cut short. He turned his head towards it immediately. His lips threatened to pull into a wide, stupid grin. But his skin grew colder, realization chilling him. There was no one there to greet him.

The small teen glanced around again. The area around him came to him slowly. Yugi frowned and shook his head. It seemed as if almost no one were around any longer. The thought was somehow startling to him.

Winter was oddly the park’s most popular season. The realization just seemed to add to the falsity of the thought. The lake sometimes froze and kids liked to skip stones across the icy surface. They would laugh and play around and some of them would make a point of crossing it if they could…

He stepped further into the trees, among the trunks stripped bare and the bark fallen away to leave them defenseless. Then Yugi glanced over his shoulder towards the street. The asphalt was oddly devoid of anything—human, animal, vehicle alike. A sudden alarm swept through him. Realization bit at his skin.

The boy had used his magic again—because there was nothing else it could be, right? It had to be magic—to make it so. No one would even notice that he was there. Just like no one had noticed that the boy had ever set foot in the arcade. No one had seen them meet. No one had noticed their kiss or the stool being knocked over. They hadn’t seen them on the ground, Yugi pinned beneath him and lost to that primal urge. No one had heard their conversation or seen the boy vanish as if he had never existed.

Yugi shook his head and glanced around again only once. He knew now, without a doubt, that the other boy had done this. He had made the park a desolate place, influencing the roads beyond it. He had made people avoid it by mere instinct, without a single clue they were doing so. No one would come near it. No one would think to enter it. No one would even consider that someone else had done that very thing.

Whatever power the boy possessed, it seemed to stretch for miles. He thought of a huge spider web, laced with red and black. It sparkled where the sun graced it and stretched for so far that he thought it could encompass the entire world. Yugi shook his head, face growing somewhat flushed.

That kind of power—if it could really stretch that far—didn’t that belong to a god?

He swallowed hard. The boy couldn’t be though. He had seen him bleeding. And he had acted so human when he was bandaging him. It was not that he was not powerful—Yugi had seen that after all—but that it was just impossible. How the hell would a god be punished and put there?

He almost snorted. Then he felt sick.

But the boy could influence a good portion of Japan. And he had even shown himself manipulate others’ thoughts and ideas. He had been ruthless in his attack against Ushio. He had displayed such strength with minimal effort.

Now the boy had made it so that the park was all but nonexistent to Domino City residents. He supposed it would make sense that he had not thought of it before he had arrived that moment. He had not once pictured the park or even considered it. It had almost been as if it had been turned into nothingness until he arrived.

Was that the effects of what everyone else thought of it as well?

Perhaps it was as if the entire park had been swept from existence in their minds.

He shivered. Yugi was not willing to say he knew for sure that it was like that in their heads. But he would not deny that it had seemed similar in his own. And maybe the boy wasn’t even responsible, but then what else could be? He shook his head.

He looked upwards, towards the branches of the trees nearest him. His eyes flickered about rapidly. Then he dragged them back to the trunks. He was here in the trees with him somewhere. He was probably watching Yugi for all he knew. He thought momentarily that he might hear him breathing. But then he realized as well that all he knew to be audible was the sound of his own footsteps.

The crunching beneath his shoes, crisp but weak from the sunlight, said that he could not make a silent approach. That also meant that, should the boy assume to sneak up on him, he would hear him as well.

And all it managed to do was remind him of the very moment he had played this game with him before. Hide-and-seek with this boy was hardly a fun affair. The last time he’d done so, his heart had been stomped on. The boy had ripped his Dark Magician card in half in front of him. It was not the least bit of a happy ending to such a simple game.

Yugi blinked. His stomach knotted painfully with anxiety. What more could the boy take from him this time? He could name a number of things. But he doubted he would go so far as to do it. Most of his efforts to mess with him seemed small, trivial. In all actuality, he thought the card being torn in half was the worst thing so far.

Yugi took in a deep breath. Then his head turned, his neck popping with the abruptness of the action. Had the boy been approaching him? He couldn’t tell. He was standing a few feet away, eyes glittering sharply as they studied him. His bangs were somewhat lighter in appearance than he remembered them, fluffier, as if he had run his fingers through them. Keen intelligence and potential seemed to light his gaze, a million other things playing across his features. Yugi felt his heart skip slightly. He realized he could never find a name for half of the things in his expression no matter the time he spent trying.

In the silence he imagined they could both hear the other’s heartbeats. He was straining his ears for a hint of it, and it was easy to think that the other might be as well. He grinned faintly, a sense of false comfort warming him. He could even imagine them both breathing too roughly, trying not to allow the other the chance to see it so as not to appear weak in their presence. He imagined the air warming with fierce emotions that were violent and crackled between them like vibrant, living lightning. He imagined it with a beautiful, vivid thread of thought that snapped abruptly as he focused on the other boy again.

Yugi took the first step at the same time as the other did. He paused for a moment, then continued. The other boy seemed hardly to try, mirroring him effortlessly. Then they both stopped a foot away from each other. They reached the halfway point, staring at each other silently. But they did not bother to take another step closer.

“I haven’t seen you in a while,” he commented, swallowing hard. It was harder to speak than he had initially imagined. “You okay?”

The other teen’s eyes narrowed, glistening stones bathed in blood, rubies tainted with distorted shadows pupils and darkness at the edges. He thought of blood dripping from a wound and stars exploding in the sky. His eyes were endless in depth, glowing around the boundaries of his darker outer irises. “I am fine.” He was snarling quietly, a sneer plastered to his face as he raised his chin. Yugi blinked, startled by the harsher reaction. He shouldn’t have been, he realized. The other boy was irritated; he could feel it in his gut. “I may even possibly be as well as you are. But then, I could easily be mistaken. I do not assume you realize how much happier you appear now than the last time I saw you.”

Yugi blinked again, confusion and a small trace of hurt making his insides ache. He shook his head, staring at him. “You ran off,” he argued softly. He frowned as their last conversation came to his mind immediately. He had vanished immediately upon saying that he wanted to kill him. He had not even left Yugi room to properly tease him. Had it been his attempt at familiarity that ruined it? But then, he was so uncomfortable with him as it was…

He drew in a deep breath. “And, aside from that, no, I’m really not all that happy. I have not been ‘happy’ for a while.”

“Right,” the other drawled, voice mocking. “I suppose that is on account of all the inconveniences and such.”

“I never called you that! I don’t know why you’re acting like this, but it’s really beginning to piss me off,” he snapped angrily, shaking his head. Yugi should have realized he would have an attitude of some kind. He was so used to him biting at him that how he had failed to anticipate it now made him feel small. His nerves were painful as he looked at him. His mind and instincts were desperate, however, struggling to embrace him, to pull him close and work on some kind of balance.

He wanted nothing more than to find some kind of harmony between them. It could be strange and off-kilter and as manipulative and deranged as possible, but he _wanted_ it. It would be chaotic and pure, simple and perfect.

But Yugi would be damned before he got on his knees and begged the boy.

“If you plan on being such an unmitigated asshole, I think I should just go ahead and go home then. If you would like to suck it up and speak to me, then do it,” Yugi snapped at him, his skin crawling with the faintest touches of a blush. “I have no idea how generous I’m actually feeling today, though, considering just how much difficulty you seem to be having pulling that massive stick _out of your ass_.”

The other boy snorted a laugh, the noise sardonic and cruel. Yugi narrowed his eyes, allowing himself a moment to glance downwards at the other’s clothes. His gaze fell towards where he should have seen the wound that have caused him so much pain. The clothes were not even torn. They were perfectly sewn together. It was as if his run-in with Ushio had never happened.

Yugi’s eyes grew wider. The bloodstains were nonexistent. The smaller boy wondered vaguely if washing his clothes had somehow fixed the other boy’s. But then…he himself had not sported bloodstains. And the pain had failed to bring a tear to the other’s eyes. The pain he had experienced had seemingly done nothing to him altogether.

He bit his lip. Confusion swelled in his insides. He tilted his head slowly, furrowing his brows as he looked more closely. But there was nothing whatsoever to see at the moment. He furrowed his brows as he looked more closely only to find that there was nothing to see.

He searched his shirt for a long minute, frowning, and bit his lip. It was the same dark gray tank top beneath the school uniform he was wearing. But he could not see a single bloodstain…

The boy didn’t hesitate to pull his shirt up and show off the skin the wound had once marred. All that remained of it was a single strip of zigzagging suture. It was just a few inches beneath his ribcage, the flesh no longer each pink from the initial opening. Yugi felt sick. It should have scarred him terribly…

He blinked slowly, frowning. Had he truly healed so quickly? And without infection or additional help? And how had the wound even pulled together so completely? Yugi glanced up and his eyes widened faintly. The other boy’s expression was cold, bored, and not the least bit of interest shown anywhere.

There was a small sizzle of heat which pooled in his lower abdomen. It occurred to him that he could easily reach over. He could move his fingers, thread them with his own, and pull the boy’s shirt over his head. Then he could kiss and lick and nip until his mouth was sore or his tongue too dry with sweat. His stomach was burning with intensity and his blood was hotter than ever. His heart was racing for a moment. His fingers shook. He could easily draw him closer, could press their hips together. He could run his fingers beneath the hem of his pants and—

His face was bruised hideously with a bright red blush. His eyes stretched wider than ever. Was it his own thoughts that were abruptly heated? They seemed charged like electricity. His skin was burning, vibrant as it lashed out between them. Or was it his own?

Yugi chewed his cheek. His fingers twitched again. His stomach knotted once more. The idea was both strange and unwelcome, yet somehow not the least bit the former. His thoughts sprang forward again. An image was burned there, bright and vibrant. His red eyes were glazed over, his lips swollen from fevered kisses. He fought off the urge to duck his head.

Humor made those red eyes glitter with laughter. Yugi had seen them moments before he had focused on the withered grass beneath their feet. His cheeks grew hotter, twinges of confusion eating at his insides. He drew in a deep breath, then exhaled tightly. The mass of emotion inside of him was writhing.

That could not be him, right? It…it had to be the other boy…r-right?

“Wrong,” he drawled in response. The baritone pitch of his voice dripped, grating against his insides, soft and yet far too loud in his ears. He was too aware of him, of the way he stood there so pristinely, without a single effort towards offering him some hint of comfort. But it drowned out the sudden increase of his heart in his ears. And his legs began to feel slightly weak. “That is yours. It is also mine. I would presume it to be an equal mix, actually.”

Yugi blinked, frowning, and shook his head mildly. He was not sure if he wanted to argue or if he was just astonished. The very idea that his mind had slipped forward and toppled down that path so easily alarmed him. Was that truly meant to be so normal? He did not think so when it came down to it. Or at least it was not for him.

Normally, if he got that kind of thought, it was brought on by conversation or a visual clue. And it had only ever happened where Tea was concerned. His emotional attachment to her had been the only thing that allowed him to even experience such desire. And he was well aware that emotion was more important to him than physical. Normally his hormones would balance towards that rather than simple appearance.

He had to like their personality. Unless there was some kind of short-circuiting in his brain, he should not have been drawn to this boy. Because his personality was simply one of the worst…

“Get out of my head,” he murmured with a small undertone of frustration. The other boy’s lips had twitched into a smirk. His red eyes were dancing with laughter now. Yugi could feel his cheeks heating further despite himself. “Stop doing that. You don’t see me doing that to you.”

The boy gave him a thoroughly unimpressed look. In fact, he appeared mere seconds from rolling his eyes or fisting his hair in annoyance. “You do not know how. And I wish I could do so, but I have no true conception of whether that is possible or not. You think far too loudly and you are constantly within my head.” He was snarling quietly, shaking his head, and his eyes were narrowed into slits. He raised a hand, looking down at his nails, and the tips of them looked long and sharp to Yugi’s eyes.

He blinked and his blue-violet eyes grew owlish. He had never considered it before to be partially his own fault that he could hear him. If the other boy was only capable of hearing him because his own mind worked so constantly, then that was horrifying. He could almost taste the apology. It was thick on his tongue and flooded his mouth with a bitter, sour flavor. The energy of it was sad, as if he could not fathom the effort of blaming him when it was his own fault.

But the other boy gave him a sharp, annoyed look. He did not care for the words. He would not bother to listen to them either. It was much easier, in all actuality, to think of the smaller boy as an enemy. To consider him as a person who might truly care, perhaps even _help_ him, made him sick.

Humans were too greedy to be caring towards a god. And his predicament made it especially worse. He was trapped, bound explicitly to them.

To try to find his way into friendship in order to enslave him as others of his species was the only reason he could ever think that Yugi might reach out. The stupid boy that he was, he expected him not to realize? He almost sneered at him.

Then his lips twisted into a hideous smirk. “Cute that your simplistic little mind did not catch onto such a concept, huh?”

The smaller boy shook his head slowly, frowning and looking at him more closely. Yugi wished for a split second that he might be able to see his soul and through his entire being. He shivered briefly, feeling as if he were gazing inside of his skin.

The other boy bristled. It almost seemed as if he could see the million and one things that were wrong with him. He wondered what he truly _did_ see, however. Was it the blood and chaos? Was the twisting darkness that screamed and bred nightmares? Was it power or weakness he saw now?

“Whatever. You are just a lot more a complication than I’m used to being exposed to,” Yugi argued softly. The words came out sharp but a tiny smile of amusement tugging at his lips in response to his own statement. The other boy let out a low snarl of a noise, like the rumble of a passing car or a cat’s purr turned vicious. The curve of his mouth seemed to have set him off. “Frustrating. A lot more trouble than I originally thought you would be, honestly.”

“You assumed me to be trouble?”

That was truly one of the smartest assumptions the human boy could have ever made about him. Considering the definitions of who and what he truly was, it was good that he had assumed he was going to be trouble for his mundane little life.

Now, if he could simply make him regret ever having brought him here…

And he could figure out how to kill him and return…

He nearly smirked.

That would be truly amazing.

He was a god, was he not? He could easily find some kind of loophole to this binding that the boy had unconsciously created. Even the Items couldn’t keep him contained if he truly tried.

Gods were more powerful than Shadow Magic.

Or at least… _he was_.

“Not everyone goes around making out with me”—Yugi blinked at the snarling noise that came from the other boy. His red eyes had narrowed into slits and his lips were curled back to show off his teeth. He startled, blinking in shock once more. The boy’s body language had become so aggressive the very sight of it made him want to cow. His shoulders were raised, his eyes were glittering, his fingers were curled, his nails hooked as if he might lash out. Yugi almost thought he looked like he had thought to have staked a claim and was hearing that others had begun to move in on it.

“…when I don’t know them.”

Yugi was stunned by the powerful wave of pain which came from the statement. They flinched in unison and the anger fell from the other’s face, replaced with stark surprise. The action was jerky and swift, so automatic that neither of them could suppress it. It made him look oddly human for a split second.

He smiled at the thought.

It was almost admirable despite the fact that it was stupid all at once.

The other boy stared at him with an annoyed expression.

“Um…I meant to tell you before—but you kind of ran off…A-anyways, I appreciate what you did for me. With Ushio—aside from tying to kill him, because that really wasn’t right,” he murmured slowly. The words unfurled from his mouth awkwardly, tense and uncomfortable. They felt claustrophobic in his throat, his mouth inflamed with them. His tongue felt swollen and heavy, limp and lifeless. The other boy’s expression did nothing to mollify Yugi’s anxiety either. His eyes had grown immensely wide, startled, and his body was tense with a rigidity that could only be brought on by complete shock. “You were just protecting me—and yourself, I guess. I should never have snapped at you. Um…I…I really am sorry. I just…I’m kind of at a loss about what to do with you…”

For a single moment the other was silent. Yugi could not even see if he was breathing. He was so still and he didn’t seem to be doing anything of an audible definition. And, abruptly, it passed. His lips pulled back hideously, his eyes burning with a sneer. He leaned forward, his voice low and vicious. “ _Do with me_?” The words were repeated slowly, like ice being chipped away, his eyes vicious and gleaming. The blood that made up the color of his eyes seemed to dance and swirl. His shoulders rose again. “What the fuck do you mean to insinuate?”

The ferocity of his tone startled the smaller teen for only a moment. Then Yugi shook his head, flustered, his cheeks heated. He’d done it again…

“I meant interacting with you. I don’t—see, this is exactly what I mean! I never really have any idea what is going to make you snap! I don’t mean to say something like that. I don’t try to be rude or nasty or anything. It’s just…it comes out that way because I don’t know how to interact with you and it’s hard with all of these emotions _everywhere_.” Yugi gestured with a vague wave of his arms, frowning and shaking his head slowly. The other boy was still watching him with that angry, hateful expression. “I have no idea how to work with this. I don’t know how to work with you. I don’t…I have no understanding when it comes to you. It’s…it’s just really _hard_ …”

“Well, is that not just the most _adorable_ thing? You are attempting to make me _sympathize_ ,” he drawled with a long, slow roll of his eyes. He sneered at him soundlessly again for a moment. But the smaller teen seemed unfazed by his bite and he almost frowned.

“You know, _I_ should be the one angry with _you_ ,” Yugi murmured. He blinked, because the thought seemed entirely too ridiculous to him. He smiled in amusement, shaking his head again. The other teen seemed to hold enough anger in him for the both of them. He didn’t need to add to it anymore. “You ran off without warning. You didn’t show up again for weeks. You brought me here to lash out some more. And now you’re standing there mocking me. And, you know, I feel like the least I should do is be pissed at you. But I don’t know how to be, I guess. I’m not mad at you at all…”

He blinked and recoiled slightly. The statement was unnerving. His stomach twisted. His pulse seemed to stutter in his veins. His throat felt tight. The admittance confused him. The confusion began to alarm him. How the hell was a human not meant to be mad about what he had done to him? Any other of the pathetic species surely would be.

He frowned, staring at him. His jaw worked momentarily, clenching and locking. Then he forced it to become lax again. The muscles ticked beneath his skin. His eyes narrowed once more into slits of annoyance. A terrible sense of suspicion nearly had enough power to make Yugi cringe.

“I don’t think you are all that bad, actually,” he continued suddenly after a moment of silence had passed between them. Yugi chewed his cheek and studied him. The other did not look the slightest bit appeased by such a statement. “I don’t think you’re always so…hard. I think you’re just strong…and really lost right now.”

“What are you? Some kind of fucking psychiatrist?” he snapped viciously. He shook his head, eyes flashing brightly, watching him cruelly. The glint in his eyes was one of pure malice as he considered him more thoroughly.

Yugi blinked, startled by the word that had left his mouth. Did he know was a psychiatrist was? If he had truly been brought there such a short time ago, how was it that he knew that word?

And then he felt him there, in the back of his mind. He was digging through his memories, fighting his way through certain thoughts. He was finding terms he needed in order to communicate with him. It was exactly as it had been before, a small pinprick of ice and the sensation of something in his head. It clawed and dug and tossed his thoughts back and forth like a ravenous dog.

The sensation faded away again instantly upon his recognition. The boy did not like to be caught, Yugi realized thoughtfully. He didn’t like for the smaller teen to know what he was doing when he tried to find meaning to things he didn’t understand. But the sensation made his skin prickle.

It was odd. But Yugi missed it fiercely when it left him.

“You are telling me this?”

“Well…yeah. I mean…why not? If you run again, that’s your right. But you should know that I won’t turn my back on—”

Yugi yelped when the other boy caught by the collar of his shirt. He was tugged off his feet, into a stumble. His blue-violet eyes flashed with confusion and sudden alarm. His heart raced where the other boy’s fingers touched briefest second against his pulse. Perhaps he was thinking of their last conversation. Or maybe he expected him to throw him back again.

Both of them stared at each other. Yugi had fallen into the pattern of shallow breaths, as if scared and in shock. The other boy wondered if he wanted to throw him or pull him closer. He did not know if he wanted to sink his teeth into his flesh and let him bleed or to kiss him until they melted into each other. Both thoughts were so terribly appealing it disgusted him. His head was spinning and his heart was beginning to pound too hard.

He almost laughed at the thought.

A scoff bubbled up in his lungs.

A heart.

He had a _heart_.

And _lungs_.

He had a _heart and lungs_.

He had _internal organs_.

He had the very _same_ internal organs that he had once ripped out of others’ bodies when they had brought his wrath upon them. And now…oh gods, _now_ , they rested in _his chest_. And one of them beat so harshly that it made his ears ring.

And was so much worse was that he _new_ Yugi could hear it as well.

He was too close.

The space between them was too small.

The air was too thick.

The sound of his heart was echoing.

Was his power bleeding into him yet? It had when they were at the arcade. Then again, maybe they would share senses instead. Would Yugi learn to see and hear better than he usually did?

But then, being so close to kill, drawing his life force into himself—that had made it harder to contain them. If Yugi had not spoken up, he would not have shared senses with him. And then he would not have felt as if a rubber band had snapped into his skin when the sensation pulled back again.

But now he thought the colors around him were getting brighter.

They were _too bright_.

They were fierce and darker, sharper, deeper.

They threatened to drown him.

The smaller boy’s had even changed. They seemed to have grown shades deeper, with a light around the pupils that he did not understand nor care for.

A feverish heat made his skin crawl. The touch of it made his heart quicken impossibly further. He was so used to the cold that swallowed his senses, lighting his nerves. It was disgusting now, to be touched by such warmth.

And it all came from such a small speck of a boy…

How had he managed to gain such a reaction from him by mere exposure?

He shuddered. The tremble was fierce enough to make Yugi do the same as he stared at him, breath harsh and sharp in tight lungs. His breath shuddered and burned. He hesitated only a moment, then pressed their mouths together. The smaller teen let out a startled noise but did not attempt to fight him.

His hands moved to grasp his upper arms, the force of his grip just enough to be noticed. He squeezed faintly once, as if coaxing him to kiss him harder. But then, perhaps he was not squeezing so little. Maybe he simply could not _feel_ the smaller boy.

Maybe Yugi was squeezing to the point that the circulation in his arms would be cut off completely and he just could not feel it…

Maybe he could not feel _him_ …

The thought made his heart skip and stumbled.

It stuttered in his chest again.

The smaller boy was so _warm_. The usual chill in his skin seemed utterly beaten away by it. His body responded to the heat by moving closer, as if drawn to it. But he did not understand why and he was sure he was not truly meant to. Every nerve in his body was tensed and desperate.

Something inside of him pleaded to make the blue-violet-eyed boy melt into him.

He wanted him to _disappear inside of him_.

He shivered again. He couldn’t tell if it was the heat or his thoughts. But the smaller boy merely responded in moving his hands to grasp the front of his jacket. Then he pull him closer.

Or maybe he had attempted to shove him away.

He really did not know.

He was not even sure he truly cared.

But the affect the smaller boy had on him burned. His skin seemed to crackle with tension and his muscles ached. His heart lurched painfully, his stomach twisting. Everything inside of him seemed to crack, then splinter, then _shatter_.

The warmth seeped beneath his skin, too hot to be contained at first. It made him feel as if he were burning from the inside out. He was not happy with the heat. The effortlessness of its surrender—whether through kissing or mere exposure—hurt.

It singed at his insides and left him feeling foreign. His own thoughts seemed to become weighted, alienated. His entire body seemed to be growing to take on an unfamiliar and terribly uncomfortable sensation with the building heat as well.

And it was only this _brat_ that managed such an impossibility. His hold on him was so _immense_. He was the only one who could coax such a reaction from him. But the panic that should have been there did not come. His initial feelings of rage were replaced by a devastating blow of reality.

He did not think he was acting as himself anymore.

Or perhaps he had finally come to know himself enough to act like it.

But it was so hard to stay around him.

And the heat was burning at his insides and his heart was aching and _something was dying inside of him_ —

Something was unfocused and spinning—

Something was burning and—

He pulled away abruptly. His head snapped away. He snarled angrily, shoving at him. Yugi was forced back a couple of steps. The other boy could feel it all writhing inside of him. He could not think. He could not breathe.

But _oh he could feel_ the way Yugi kept _staring at him_.

The other boy righted himself as if the misstep had never happened. The low snarl grew an octave smaller, vibrating painfully in his ears. The concern in his features burned at his subconscious more than he was willing to admit.

He was trying to make him feel better. He was trying to keep him more grounded.

But all it did was make him more feverish.

The hatred and frustration swelled painfully.

“Are you—?”

“Go. Go away,” he breathed, shaking his head sharply. He stepped back again with his gaze on the ground, shaking. The grass was crisp and sharp against his eyes. The way it stuck up, the way it was so hardened by the cold… “I don’t…just go.”

Yugi opened his mouth to argue, to say that he was the one who had brought him here. He wanted to talk, say that he was not allowed to force him to leave like this. He couldn’t just dismiss him…but when he looked at him, he couldn’t find the words. His expression looked all but broken, troubled. Yugi swallowed thickly and stayed silent. He nodded only when the other looked up, ready to bark at him in his growing anger.

His eyes were desperate and pleading. And Yugi could see the silent _begging_ in his gaze that told him to leave him alone.

He turned on his heel and started off. When he glanced back, he expected him to be gone. But the other boy was still standing there. His eyes were slits of garnet and his mouth was curled into a snarl. His jaw was ticking angrily. His brows were furrowed and his fingers were twitching. He looked more confused than angry, however.

But when he almost thought to speak, the other boy’s shoulders rose in warning. He turned away again. He was dazed and confused, this interaction making his skin tingle. How strange and awkward was this whole thing?

He had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. Was it even the right thing to try and keep him in his life like he felt his gut telling him to?

Yugi had no idea. He didn’t know if it was right to attempt having him around with all of the pain it tended to bring. He had no idea if he should back off immediately or if he should keep going with it as it was.

He didn’t even know if he should turn back around and try to talk to him or not.

Yugi shivered and glanced back over his shoulder only once. He found him watching him, eyes dark and vicious. But overall he seemed to be growing miserable in a way that made him want to comfort him despite not knowing how.

They stared at each other for a moment. They were facing each other, studying. Finally, after a long minute, the other boy turned and started to stalk off. He could not think straight, nor attempt to talk.

What was he actually supposed to be doing with this? He honestly had no plan on how to approach the other boy. But Yugi was starting to think that he affected him just as much as he seemed to him. There was something off about the way he had shrugged him off moments ago, as if he had been prepared for Yugi to do so instead. So he had wound up taking the initiative when the smaller teen did not.

Or maybe he had come to feel something that Yugi himself had missed. He had been so overcome by the kiss, losing himself inside of the pain that existed between them, that it was possible.

And it had begun to feel as if he were trying to offer a piece of himself that he had no idea how he should go about attempting.


	10. Chapter X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: Cursing should be relatively mild but sometimes grows a little more at times, Season 0 Yami...and he's a little more unhinged than usual, so keep that in mind.  
> Note: There are mentions of blood, some graphic images of death, sensual moments and feelings, touches of violence/abuse  
> Update Schedule: Since I’ve already completed and posted this story on ff, I am going to try to update it weekly with the edits around updating on ff as well.  
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer’s block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it is appreciated. Please and thank you.

Chapter X

He was there.

Yugi blinked open his eyes and stared at the moonlit figure in front of him. The light glinted off of bared teeth, a glowing gaze burning in the dark. He was trembling, his shadow stretched and fractured. It was broken in random places, pure energy marring it in long white lines like the shattered shards of mirror that he had scattered across his floor that first day.

The blue-violet-eyed teen glanced at the wall, staring at a pair of golden eyes with a third appearing where he assumed was the center of the forehead. Yugi blinked, thrown by the image in front of him. The image made him cringe; the line of color that formed the third eye was slowly but surely opening. The feral snarl he let out made the small teen's heart pound.

He did not have the chance to respond to it.

He was jerked by the sudden addition on the bed. His back left the mattress for a split second. Then he landed with a heavy breath, shocked. His heart stuttered, his eyes wide. His mind was still trying to catch up. All he could hear was the way the springs squeaked and groaned beneath them both.

He blinked once. The other boy merely stared, then snarled and reached for his throat. Yugi stared at him blankly. His throat was wrapped tightly in cold palms. Stars had begun to appear behind his eyes.

The pinch of his nails in his throat made him choke harder. But the panic was still oddly absent. Yugi could not stop staring at him. It was strange, the way his instincts seemed so cushioned, softening the blow of the attack. Every part of him was humming more with satisfaction than fear; in fact, Yugi was not sure he knew a single thing about the latter at that moment.

The frantic stare that the other boy gave him—was he a god? Yugi still didn't know—scared him more than the action itself. The glares and the bared teeth did nothing. The tightening of his fingers around his throat was not daunting.

A harsh tremble made his profile jerk in the darkness. His eyes glowed and dilated furiously. It was as if his eyes had become black, yet that black was moving, twisting,  _visibly glowing_. It was one of the strangest, most mesmerizing things Yugi had ever seen before in his entire life. His heart pounded, staring up at that expression and those glowing depths.

"What the fuck have you  _done_ to me?" he spat. He was shaking, squeezing harder. The smaller teen blinked, staring at him mindlessly. He wanted to beat the sight out of his eyes for a moment. If he could get rid of his senses it would be so much  _easier_! He snapped his jaws, feeling his own mouth watering. He could not be sure if it was desire or frustration.

But he wanted to beat him to death.

And it wasn't working.

His own throat was aching from the pressure. And he had to fight to keep from squinting in response. His eyes might even pop out of his head from it all. But the pressure seemed hardly to daunt the small human boy. He could have screamed and raged.

He was so much smaller—so much  _tinier_ —than the mammoth boy he had dealt with. Yet he was holding his own against him where Ushio had been unable. His beefy muscles had been put to shame before, but Yugi's puny body was taking this hit and surviving it. Everything about the situation should have been reversed.

The boy should have been cowed by his  _very strength_.

He was  _suffocating_  him!

Yet Yugi was not even  _afraid_.

Yugi wondered if his instincts were betraying him. The thought was slow but powerful, throwing him off balance. Some dark part of his mind lit with the suggestion. Maybe if he had panicked and flailed instead he would make it out alive.

His vision was beginning to blur. Did the other boy feel it too?

The thought left him abruptly.

The boy had snatched his hands away. His face was turned and he was panting for air. His entire body was shuddering in the dark. His eyes were glowing, turning red now rather than black. Had that been a sign that he was hurting as well? Or had it merely been the physical manifestation of his rage?

Yugi struggled to consider it, blinking in confusion.

Had he felt as if his windpipe were being crushed as well?

Or—Yugi nearly laughed at himself; he was so foolish to think it—had he been unable to do anything more?

He did not know what for sure he wanted to be the reality of this situation. Half of him was hopeful, ridiculously wistful and stupid, that perhaps it was both. Perhaps if it was both he would feel better about the desperation between the two of them.

One of them screamed that perhaps he held the power in this whole situation.

But the truth of the matter—he knew—was sad and left him feeling remorseful.

He  _wanted_ the bastard in front of him to save himself he had to. But he was unable to when it came to a situation between the two of them. He was connected to him by that primal power that existed there. And it hideously held him at bay. It kept his hand held back from striking out.

And it kept him prisoner like nothing else.

There was nothing in the world Yugi wanted more, though, than for this boy to be okay. He wanted him to be free of that burden, safe to save himself if it came up. He did not want him to have to force himself to put Yugi before him.

He closed his eyes.

"Say you hate me."

The words were clear and crisp, demanding and harsh, but the undercurrent was obviously distressed. Yugi blinked his eyes open. Then he looked up, his gaze glittering in the dark as he took in the other's position.

He had moved just enough to bow his head. But he was watching him, eyes glinting like blood-coated chips of ice. His lips were drawn back in a snarl, frustrated and cold. His body was tense, a quiver pushing through it from the statuesque position his body had taken on. The words slithered through the air like a terrible airborne snake. It bled and wormed its way into Yugi's head with an accuracy that was more deadly than venom.

He trembled briefly, the impact of his words and the entire situation once again pushing him painfully. He shook his head, swallowing harshly. He wanted, for the briefest second, to reach out and touch him. He wanted—

"I can't. I don't hate you. I don't think…I honestly ever can," he admitted slowly. He frowned, the sincerity of the words shaking him. But where had they come from? Had he even meant to say them? He had been sure he was going to say something else entirely. But the words were the only ones that felt right;  _real_.

They were the first ones in  _days_ that were not weak and forced, fake to the core and completely useless as they left his mouth. These words had a purpose, a meaning. He might not know what they were, but they possessed something.

"I'm not really sure…how that works, though. I should hate you. You give me a lot of reasons too. A lot more than to like you. But I…I don't think I can stop caring…"

Was it a form of self-preservation?

Yugi wished with everything in him that he could say that. But there was something else inside of him that reared its head instead. It said no, that it was something more powerful. And he hated himself for that ugly thought. He hated the way it slunk through him so easily.

The other boy shook his head slowly in sharp, violent jerks. His jaws parted and clicked together. He looked like a dog that was tearing flesh from a dead animal they'd caught. He looked as if he wanted Yugi to  _be_ that dead animal. But he knew the repercussions and that tempered him.

So instead he simply raised his head. And slowly he turned his eyes to him again, snarling low in his throat. "Do you understand how dire this has become?" he spat in a hideous tone. He shook his head again, his shoulders bunching up even as his body jerked in an unwanted shiver. Yugi watched his skin roll briefly with the effort to retain it. The bones jerked and rolled for a split second, then settled again. "You and I are  _bound together_. Our fates are  _completely tied_. If you should die, I shall too. If I should die, you will follow not long after. Can you truly tell me that you understand or does that somehow escape your feeble mind's limited comprehension?"

"Of course I understand what you've been saying this entire time!" he argued, biting his lip and shaking his head after a moment with a small sigh. If he had not spent so much time awake and restless, wondering, confused and shaken, he might have argued and snapped at him not to call him stupid. Now, however, it took all of his focus to keep from trying to reach out. It was stupid of him to want to. The other boy would surely see it as a threat, but Yugi couldn't shake it off. His fingertips were itching and tingling with pain. The harsh truth of the situation was as the boy was painting. It was dangerous and dark, like a growing stain, and it was  _miserable_. "I guess I was hoping that it was some kind of life…but I can see that it isn't."

His entire body was so still Yugi could not tell if he was breathing. He waited for the other boy to speak, but the seconds were passing by and the small teen felt like he was losing his mind. "You cannot claim ignorance anymore," he hissed abruptly. A gleeful note had come across his tone, vicious and smug, and Yugi blinked at it.

"Because you told me," he argued instead, frowning and wishing his next words held even the slightest hint of truth to them. "I never needed to know."

His lips drew back into a hideously stretched smile. His dark red eyes glinted in the darkness, then glowed fiercely. His teeth sparkled in the moonlight when the clouds parted again. The tips of his canines looked like sharpened blades. He moved a hand forward, clenching his fingers against the comforter.

"You are wrong, little game. You think that I might exist if I had not run across you in that little arcade you so often frequent? No," he purred, voice venomous and slightly seductive. "Even if I might find such strength, we were bound to cross paths at some point. And we would have found ourselves in this very position as we were meant to. We are where your life was leading, don't you think?"

"I think my life leads elsewhere too though. And I doubt that it's over just yet."

The boy smirked and the chuckle which left him reminded Yugi of satin and ice. "No, just terribly shortened," he drawled, teeth glinting and eyes glowing.

Yugi hummed quietly, then shook his head. "But where are we? Where has my life led me? I don't know where we are right now. And I don't think you know either. I think we're just as lost now as we were before."

His voice became wistful and his eyes seemed to lose focus. Something flickered in them and grew darker, the shadows passing over them like storm clouds. "Bleeding into each other and overlapping somewhere," he murmured, his head tilting only minutely to the left. "That is the best we can for now, I suppose."

"But  _why_? Why is that? I would help you if you asked me to. If you really need it, I will try to help you. I don't understand what you want from me—and it's so hard trying to figure out when I have no idea what the hell I should  _try_ doing in the first place," Yugi said softly. He bit his lip and watched as the other boy blinked slowly in acknowledgment of his words. "Obviously we need to be around each other. Or you would never have bothered to keep popping up in and out of my life like this. But what I don't understand is why you keep  _running all of the time_. I don't understand why you  _avoid me_ and  _refuse to meet me halfway_. If you would just do that, we could work this entire thing out."

"Work this out? There is nothing to be worked out," the other snarled angrily. His teeth glinted like knives in the darkness and his eyes glowed a bit more viciously. He tossed his head again, growling low in his throat. "You have no idea what it is you are doing and I have no desire to remain here while you fumble in an attempt to figure it out."

"Yeah? Well then you could tell me how to send you back and I will do it." Yugi searched his face at the declaration. The other teen blinked stupidly, his eyes widening drastically. His gaze flashed brilliantly for a moment, startled by the statement. It almost looked as if his eyes were drawing in the moonlight from the window nearby, displaying it in his gleaming irises. His expression fell into one of pure startled discomfort, a small bead of confusion making his head tilt. "Just tell me how. I don't want you to be here if you are not going to be happy with it. I just didn't mean to bring you here…"

"Going back is not an option. It has never  _been_ an option. I am stuck here. With…with you," the other admitted quietly, slowly. A bitter edge colored his words and the residue in his mouth was sour and disgusting. He glanced at the Puzzle and then turned away again. His eyes narrowed and he let out a huff of a breath. "There is no escaping this…"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know…I never meant to…I don't even know how you got here…"

The other boy's jaws clenched violently. The muscles jerked and Yugi could hear his teeth as they ground together. The stillness of the darkness made it so much louder. The silence was nonexistent for a moment. The other boy shook his head again roughly. "You do not know?" he hissed softly, mocking him at first before the last word became a furious snarl of hatred. "You don't  _know_? Are you truly so dense?"

Yugi frowned but did not attempt to broach a fight with him. He was not awake enough to push them into an argument. Nor did he feel he had the energy for such an arrangement. The boy had shown him nothing if not that the argument would be intense and violent. He would not even have to consider it to know it.

The boy's state of mind was more of an abyss, empty and angry, than anything else. That upset Yugi more than his words did. And it was hard to pay attention to anything but that despair and anger this boy seemed to shoulder. The resentment and open hatred that flared from him into Yugi was overwhelming…

"I don't know. I really have no idea how I managed to do this. And I'm so sorry for that."

He glared at him for a moment. The frustration which poured from him was forceful enough to make Yugi's insides grow cold. Both of them turned away, staring at the bed for a moment.

"I hate this color," the boy hissed. His fingernails raked over the material for a moment and Yugi was amazed that it did not split at the seams. "It is utterly disgusting—like fresh piss."

Yugi couldn't help the small laugh that left him, as startled as it was. He glanced at it, then shrugged; his own eyes could not truly see the color in the dark. But he remembered the other boy's vision in the alleyway; he could see perfectly well. He had no trouble with shadows and dark colors.

"I consider it more of a mustard color, but fresh piss is a good description too, I guess," he said lightly, teasing him gently. It earned him a small tug on the other's lips, though he had no idea if that was truly a good or a bad sign. "It's really not the best color. I don't really like it sometimes but other times it's nice. It's one of those colors that…kind of has to grow on you, really."

"It is utterly disgusting. Why should you keep it?"

"Why? I don't know. I think it's because all of us picked it out when I was younger. I think it's probably one of the only clear memories I have of our entire family together doing something," he admitted. He furrowed his brows and frowned, considering it for a moment. They had all gone out that day together. He remembered the argument that had come about when he had picked the color.

His dad had been against the color yellow in general. His mom had had to coax him into allowing him to have it. It had taken a quiet conversation the span of about twenty minutes before he finally relented to her. His grandfather had merely insisted that it was his choice to buy whatever he wanted since it was his room in question. That had to be one of the times that money was tighter.

His dad had not imposed his will or opinion on him past a certain age when he was growing up. And most often, when he did, it was because they were strapped for money. Or maybe he had just thought the color was too disgusting to be brought into his house—or any house for that matter.

He glanced at the other boy's face now, pushing the memory aside again. The situation came back into focus for him, the pensive expression slowly falling into something else on the other's sharper features.

"What? What's wrong?"

The taller teen shrugged his shoulders but did not look at him as he focused on the comforter again. Yugi could see his mouth working. He was mumbling under his breath in a way that the smaller was unable to make out even the smallest hint of his words. He reached out to touch his shoulder and the other boy recoiled as if he thought he might strike him.

Yugi blinked, startled at the sight. He was perched on his haunches immediately again. His eyes were glowing like fresh lava and his teeth were bared. He snarled low and long in his throat, something almost like a wild animal.

"Do. Not.  _Touch_. Me!" he spat viciously. His shoulders had risen in angry defense once more. He had bunched in on himself, tense and wild, vicious beyond what he seemed capable of. His limbs were pulled together and he seemed almost as if he was trying to take up less room on the comforter in front of him. He was uncomfortable and miserable, the two emotions bleeding and threatening to drown the smaller boy at any moment.

But what had he done to bring about such a change in him? He had no idea what had made him react that way. Nor did he think he had any right to ask about it. He thought if he opened his mouth the other might flee. He doubted that the red-eyed teen might hold conversation with him in this state. He was too tense. And there were too many things they both lacked the knowledge of.

He had spent days in between the boy's little disappearance trying to figure out some way to tell when he would run. When he would fight back and what offended him was a question he did not have answers for. But he had not failed to realize that he had only instinct to go on.

Some uncommon sense which told him what would make  _him_ withdraw. It was unsettling to compare himself to the other male. It was almost like trying to say that fire would not burn or ice did not melt. It was an obvious lie, something that he could not convince himself of. There were too many contrasts between himself and the boy. And the boy moved too quickly from his sight, so fast that he could not fully think straight about it. And all of it simply made his head spin more than it did help him to even attempt understanding.

"Why are you still speaking to me?"

Yugi startled at the question. His voice was curling, menacing in its undertone. His eyes had grown narrow, searching his face thoroughly now. His lips curled back to bare his teeth so that they glittered once more where the moonlight graced them.

"Do you not want me to speak to you?"

"Do you think you should  _be_ talking to me?"

"I don't know. I just…I feel like…maybe I owe it to you? I mean…I don't…I don't know. I don't know what I mean either." The red-eyed boy blinked at him when he let out a small, almost troubled laugh. The noise was awkward and tiny, so small that it seemed swallowed within the narrow space of his room. "Look, I want to help you."

He fell silent. The other boy blinked at him lazily. Yugi frowned and bit his lip, his eyes caught where the light hit the other's gaze and gave birth to the red of his irises where they looked almost black in the shadows. Yugi blinked, surprised by the way that they now seemed to be absorbing the darkness and completely banishing the moonlight. The glow was diminished, darkened, and the scattered touch of shadows made his eyes more ethereal. His gaze was but a small ringlet of red around his pupils, so thin and small as to be nearly nonexistent.

"I don't know how I can do it, but if we can talk, maybe that will help…"

The other boy stayed silent for a long minute. Yugi swore he heard him breathe in a sharp withdraw of air, deep and scathing. Then he finally exhaled again and the words curled up in his ears, hissing like serpents.

"You don't  _owe_ me anything." Although, he would  _gladly_ take his life for retribution. There was no argument that he would happily steal his life from him. "And I do not know how much good it will ever do us to bother with such effort."

"But doesn't it ever frustrate you how dependent we seem to be of each other? You said it yourself that you need me. And I already admitted that I need you too. And it's obvious that you don't want to be here. But you're stuck here with me. You don't want to have to deal with me. But you  _know_ you need to at least be around me." He swallowed hard, watching him more intently. The red eyes blinked lazily once more. He was unmoved by any of the words. He was not the least bit interested in any manner. "That irritation you feel could just be from having to stay here but it could also be from your hatred of the fact that you have to be around me in the first place. If we can figure out a way to work with it, then wouldn't things be  _so_ much easier for us both?"

"I have no reason to try to make life easier for you."

"I know that. But what about yourself?"

"I like challenges."

Yugi laughed at his stubborn response, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. The other boy wrinkled his nose lazily. "Right," he laughed, smirking at him playfully, "because someone  _could_ actually enjoy a situation like this."

He opened his mouth to argue and then fell silent again. He looked away and narrowed his red eyes into slits once more. The smaller boy thought that maybe he was looking at the Puzzle but when he turned his head to glance it, his eyes seemed more likely staring at the corner where the walls connected. He frowned.

"You know the walls aren't going to suddenly close in on you or anything, right?"

"It does not do well for its tiny size."

"I know." He shrugged, giving him a small grin. "Super tiny, right?"

"It is." For a moment the red-eyed teen kept his gaze glued to the juncture on the wall, tilting his head. His teeth dug into his bottom lip for a split second before his head turned back to him. A small gleam of confusion shown in his dark eyes, creeping into his voice now as well. "Why should it be so small?"

"I don't really think Grandpa originally planned to have his daughter and grandson living with him," he explained, blinking. Was this curiosity a true offering of interest or just something that came about because of whatever it was that existed between them? Then, of course, came the inevitable question of whether it made a difference or mattered at any rate.

Was there even a difference?

He looked at him for a long time. The interest burned in his expression, from the very tilt of his head to the glitter in his eyes. He leaned forward slightly, just enough that it was noticeable. The chill of his skin against his at such close proximity was somewhat startling. He knew he should have expected it, but he had forgotten for the moment, somehow.

His hands, Yugi noticed, had moved to his lap. His fingers settled on his thighs as if he were an excited child awaiting a story. He knew that he would never be able to picture this boy in such an innocent light. But the posture worked in the favor of a misleading charm.

And he was selfishly elated with the concept that he was interested in him in any manner. He seemed so bored with everything as it was. He wanted nothing more than for him to speak to him more. Maybe it would open up a way for them to start working together or something…

"I think this was going to originally be his home with the game shop beneath, living alone after Grandma died. I mean, we would have come around to visit him sometimes. But I think this was actually meant to be his study and my mom's room would be a souvenir or game room for him to store artifacts from Egypt. I don't really know though. He never said anything about it."

"Living alone seems like a waste."

"Of what?"

"Space, time…effort, perhaps?"

"But…you seem like a loner," Yugi commented after a single moment of hesitation. He frowned slightly, looking at the other boy who turned his face away with a scoff. The noise was oddly scornful enough to seem almost like a dark laugh. "I mean, I don't…I just…There's something about you that makes you seem like…that…"

"That is because I am. Solitude is necessary for me. Or it  _was_. But that will no longer work for very blatant reasons, seeing as my life is so tediously tied to your own now."

"Are you really never going to forgive me for this? I don't even know how the hell I managed to bring you here. I don't know what I did. And, if there was some way to send you back, I would. Why can't you just…?" He trailed off after a long moment. Then he shook his head and chewed his lip until it bled.

"Why can't I just what?  _Forgive_ you?" he sneered, voice taking on a bitter enough tone to make it twist into an almost brittle pitch. His shoulders rose again, stiff, and his lips curled back to bare his teeth in open loathing. "You think that you deserve to be forgiven,  _Yugi_? Because you what?  _Feel bad_ for bringing me here?"

"It was a mistake—"

"That is damn well affecting both of our lives, you bastard," he snarled, cutting him off immediately. There was a small bite of irony in his words which made him bristle further. He had not considered the reality of the words until that moment.

He was alive.

In a mortal sense.

He ground his teeth together.

"It is a mistake that should surely cost you  _your_ existence. It is irreversible and brought about with such ignorance that I should rip your head off and stuff it up your ass. You foolish little  _child_ ," he spat, baring his teeth more fully; his gums were almost inky in appearance in the dark, "bringing me here because you could not keep your grubby paws off things that you should never have been exposed to. For eight years it eluded you and yet you never through to give up. I do not know if that was pure determination or the inability to just a loss. Perhaps it is simply that you are plainly  _stupid_  but here I am, because you have dragged me out of  _my_ world and into  _this_."

Yugi flinched backwards. His head hit the board harshly. The boy landed straddling him once more. He was snarling like a feral wolf. He was all teeth. The noise leaving his lips was completely guttural. Yugi thought of rolling and booming thunder. His eyes blazed, murderous in intent. The smaller teen stared up at him.

His first instinct was to apologize.

But the boy was infuriated with him.

Talking seemed like one of the stupidest things he could do at a moment like that.

"You are like a fucking  _parasite_. You dragged me out of my home and sank your nails into me. And I have to deal with this—this  _thing_ inside of me. I woke up sick and sore. I woke up  _half-dead_."

The words made him shiver, entire body jerking with the movement. Then he pulled back and away from him entirely. In the miniscule split second it took to blink, Yugi found the boy at the end of the bed in his former position. He looked as if he had never moved from it. His red eyes were glittering as he looked at the comforter.

Yugi wondered if perhaps the other boy thought the small bit of body warmth he possessed was completely trapped in the blanket there. He could maybe get it back if he took that seat again. The thought made him tip his head to the side, blinking wide eyes as he stared at the other boy in open confusion.

He struggled to sit up now as well, eyes wide and shock making his body stiff. Those red eyes were still focused on him. He was the prime target of intense hatred, a scornful glare which he barely resisting flinching beneath.

Yugi was unsure of whether the other boy was even breathing anymore. His body was completely still, held in place as if he had just locked eyes with Medusa. Then he blinked. His chin was raised abruptly a moment later, challenging.

It was just enough of a signal to Yugi.

He considered it a weakness.

And he hated it.

"You don't have to tell me," he said quickly after a long moment. The other boy stiffened further, the unfamiliar warmth in Yugi's voice making him bristle furiously. His voice bordered pity and the unwelcome emotion caused his lips to pull back into a silent snarl. It was really only while he was looking at him that he realized just how much he had alienated him in the last few minutes.

The other boy had been expecting him to fight with him. The gentle approach was beyond anything he desired. And his first instinct was that of sinking his teeth into his throat in retribution. Yugi could see it in his face, the way his teeth glinted in the darkness. The red-eyed boy desired to have the animosity between them back. He needed to have something that was familiar to him.

It didn't have to last, but he needed it. It was a necessity for him, if only for a moment.

He had to seem like a complete stranger to him now.

"Then I won't," he finally snapped. The words came out slightly strange and awkward, as if he had not even given thought to consider the idea of expecting himself to speak them. His gaze flickered to the clock on the desk. The little arms and taped on plastic that made up the eyes, the little sharpie lines drawn in to give it a determined look… "Go to sleep."

He almost argued but then realized that the boy was hardly stupid. Even if he was not open to learning everything in the world surrounding him, even if he did not care to have Yugi teach him or really even admit to not understanding. He must have figured out that he left for school during the week and was free two days out of seven. Unless something were to happen to give him an extra day off, he was on a rather strict routine.

He must have recognized it and known well enough when he was allowed to wake him in the middle of the night. He knew exactly which days he could do it in order to cut his sleep in half.

It was almost hilarious to consider it. He smirked in amusement at the thought. The boy's darker nature was far more apparent in that moment than it seemed otherwise.

"What about you?"

The boy lowered his eyes to where Yugi had caught his arm. He held tightly and refused to budge, though the stare burned his fingers. The other boy blinked, long and slow, the motion drawn out, and then he turned on him with his teeth bared. He snarled low in his throat. "Do not touch me!"

"I'll let go of you as soon as you tell me what you're going to do."

His lips curled back, head turning to where he was touching him once more. "That is none of your business," the red-eyed teen snapped viciously. His gaze narrowed into shards of glowing ruby, glowing and dancing in the dark. His teeth glinted in the moonlight and his head tilted to the side. A low, rumbling snarl rose further into the cold air.

"I think it is. And I care enough to ask." Yugi drew in a deep breath, heart pounding for a moment as they stared at each other. "I care enough to worry. I think you should be kind enough to tell me."

"Kind? Kind enough to tell you? Fuck you, pathetic human bastard. I am not about to be 'kind' to you."

"Listen, I know you hate this, and I am not so keen on it, honestly—"

"Right, because that curiosity you harbor does not make you interested enough to regard me as a test subject," the boy sneered, glaring at him furiously and curling his lips back once more. His canines seemed to be glowing now. It was almost as if he were somehow absorbing all of the outside light into them. It made them look bright, vibrant, like stars or moonlight. "Do you take me for stupid? You do not  _care_. You merely want answers and I have no reason to even feel  _inclined_ to give you one."

"Don't get so mad because I'm curious when it comes to you. I'm curious about everything," Yugi stated in a gentle tone, trying in vain to think of a way to make him feel more inclined to speak to him. He rubbed his thumb over his arm, the other boy blinking at him once more.

He could see it in the stillness of his body now. He was uncomfortable. He was so stiff that his entire body was frozen, statuesque in front of him. Yugi felt sick.

He should have snapped at him, he realized a second too late. The boy would have responded better to that than his friendly approach. If he had snarled and snapped his teeth and lashed out, the boy would know what to do with that. As it was, Yugi being so soft towards him alarmed him more than anything else.

It was confusing and alarming, the two of them pulsing into Yugi painfully.

"I wouldn't poke my nose in your business if it didn't feel like I needed to, okay? I worry when you aren't around. It's…it's really hard being around you and then having you disappear and return again. I just…Tell me where you're going?"

"I don't know yet," he snarled, grabbing his hand and pinching his skin harshly with his nails. Yugi flinched, loosening his grip enough to let him pull it away. But then the smaller teen caught his arm with his free hand. The air crackled with burning frustration at the contact. "Release me."

"No, I want you to stay here."

The truth of the statement made them both freeze in place momentarily. The other teen's head whipped towards them. His eyes narrowed into slits and his lips pulled back once more, his gums once more like ink.

Yugi blinked once and offered him a tentative smile. Then he swallowed hard and watched him as he tried to think of a way to make the conversation's heavier weight lessen somewhat.

"Please stay here tonight. I want you to stay with me."

"Why should I  _ever_ aspire to put  _your_ mind at ease?"

"Because it's not one-sided and you know that," he argued, shaking his head slowly. He smiled a little wider when he saw the boy's jaw clench for a moment. His eyes were burning, boring into his viciously. He was trying for an argument and he could not find one.

_You told me that yourself, remember_?

There was no way that he was going to be able to find an argument when it was he himself who had offered him such absolute truth. And now he was cornered by it, and both of them knew it.

Yugi licked his lips, hesitating. "This affects both of us. It's pretty obvious that we need to be around each other. I got sick the first time that you pulled something stupid when you ran off like that. And you weren't looking too great when I saw you the time after that. Besides, what's so  _wrong_ with wanting you to have somewhere to spend the night?"

"Perhaps it might have to do with the fact that such company would be  _you_. Or maybe I should say that it would be easier if your head was not up my ass to being with," he spat. He tried to pull his arm away again, snarling when Yugi kept his grip. His skin was too warm against his. The red-eyed teen wanted nothing more than to rip his hand off at that moment. " _Let go of me_."

"No."

His head snapped up to his again. He could see nothing but darkness there. His pupils were enlarged and so black, immense in shape, that he could not see any red. It made him look abruptly hideous and flat within his face. He thought of black holes and the writhing shadows which made up his reflection.

He thought if he showed light into his eyes, his pupils would have just absorbed it.

"Listen… _please_? It's an easy enough concept. If we are near each other, we feel better," Yugi tried, blinking and swallowing hard as he considered him. His eyes were like staring into the place nightmares came from. "If you spend the night with me, I won't have to worry about you when I go back to sleep, right? You can leave as soon as I get up again. But just spend the night here. With me."

He tried again to take his hand off his arm and Yugi moved closer to him, halting the action. For a moment he remained still, as if the life had been drawn out of him due to the close proximity. Then the other boy moved again, slowly.

His eyes rose to his again, peering at him from beneath his long lashes. The rings of his irises were back, glittering in the dark. His dark pupils were so dark against them Yugi felt his heart leaping into his throat with fear. His lips curled back, the undiluted hatred between his red and vantablack eyes.

Finally, when the seconds ticked by and Yugi remained undeterred, he finally shook his head slowly in avid frustration.

"I am not going to let you go, okay? I want you to stay here."

He snarled low in his throat. "I wish I could kill you."

"Well, you can't, so… _tough_."

He bared his teeth and snarled so softly that his skin crawled momentarily. Yugi grinned a moment, tilting his head slightly. He hoped to the gods that his appearance was friendlier and open than it had been formerly.

"Take off your shoes and lay down with me."

"Did I not just tell you that I bow to  _no one_?"

"Yes, you said that gods don't bow. But you're flesh and bones and most gods  _aren't_ ," Yugi argued softly, searching his face as the other boy scowled at him. "Beyond that, there is no bowing involved. It is just a matter of being comfortable when you fall asleep."

"You are trying to lock me up and keep me prisoner."

"No, if I were planning to do that, I would have done it with handcuffs."

"Hand…what?"

Yugi hesitated for a long moment. The thought of handcuffs brought forth various sexual scenarios from porn tapes. His lips threatened to tug upwards at the thought. He bit back laughter at the concept.

He wondered what the other boy might think if he saw those images there. With how often he kept shoving his hands in his pants, Yugi had a feeling it would startle him more than anything.

And then he realized that he would grow angry, pissed, vicious beyond coherency, the moment that he noticed the restraining purpose of them. If he ever assumed to think that Yugi would use them, he was sure he would not make it to his next breath.

The thought was sobering.

"Nothing. Just come on. It's getting late and I want to be able to say I slept for a little while before I go to school in the morning," he grumbled softly. Yugi used his free hand to cover his mouth as he yawned. He watched the way the other boy stubbornly clenched his jaw and crossed his arms. He seemed to be debating his options, whether he might be able to flee without a second glance. But mostly the movement made it just that much more obvious he was not happy with the arrangements that Yugi had proposed he work with. "Please?"

The way the word came out sounded like an innocent plea. But it dragged itself out like a begging whine and the other boy stared at him for a long minute. It took a moment. Then the other boy finally glanced at his feet and moved to swing his legs over the edge of the bed.

Yugi bit back a purr of satisfaction. He was surprised by the noise that threatened to bubble up from his chest. He smiled widely as the other kicked his shoes off but did not move.

"I have no desire to."

" _Please_?"

He huffed and Yugi smiled again as he finally moved over to him. For a moment the smaller teen was alarmed when he almost curled up on top the comforter. A small squeeze of confusion passed between them. It curled and burned in their blood viciously. He stared at him, then began to pull back the sheets in invitation.

The other boy hesitated for a long minute. His eyes were cold and calculating. They glinted like knives in the darkness. Slowly, he glanced at Yugi with a pensive, questioning glare. Then, finally, with deliberate slowness, he moved forward. He plopped onto his stomach and Yugi had to pull the blankets from beneath him.

He seemed to weigh a lot more than Yugi had initially thought him possible of.

Were shadows supposed to be light or heavy…?

"I am  _not_ a shadow," the boy snarled angrily, voice vicious and cold. He spun on him with glowing eyes once more. Their faces were inches apart abruptly, his teeth bared once more and his breath cold enough to make Yugi shiver. "Refrain from considering me as such."

Yugi blinked, nodding once. "Okay, sure. I just…um…what am I supposed to call you then?" he asked with a confused tone, biting his lip.

"A god," he spat. He turned away and laid his cheek forcefully against the cooled cotton of his sheets. Yugi draped the blankets over him after a moment, eyes searching his face for a moment. He didn't know how much validation that idea possessed. Whether or not he should comment on that was not a question. It would be beyond stupid for him to open his mouth and say such a thing. But he was grateful when the other failed to spit at him again. "I am a god. Trapped in a human form."

"That's…something, I guess," the smaller teen muttered. He shook his head as he settled beside him comfortably. He had the briefest impulse to reach over and tuck the sheets and comforter beneath him.

Yugi guessed it was better that the other boy was turned away from him, facing the wall. Lying in the deeper shadows helped him a lot at the moment. He was sure that, otherwise, he would have been picturing a lot of things that he had no right to.

"Do you sleep?"

It was a strange, startling idea, that perhaps the other boy didn't.

"Do I sleep?" he sneered bitterly. He turned towards him for a moment, snarling before pausing and seemingly considering the words. They stared at each other and Yugi felt his mind racing with thoughts of how he might look when he was pleasured. But the other boy didn't seem to care much for his wandering fantasies. He reached over abruptly and tugged his pillow to lie comfortably beneath his head partway.

Yugi grinned lopsidedly at the action. The sight was amusing and beautiful, and he wondered if he had feigned his reluctance to get under his skin. It was plausible. The gods knew this boy liked to mess with him.

It was obvious now, however, that the boy was utterly  _exhausted_. And he was more than slightly comfortable now that the pillow was under his head and his body was covered in a blanket. But the smaller boy himself still seemed to remain an entirely different concept. He was still that hideous threat which he struggled so hard to navigate.

"Not much."

"By choice?"

"…Sometimes." He did not bother to elaborate and Yugi didn't even try to ask him to. Instead he struggled under the covers and reached out to touch his hand. The other boy stared at first, then attempted to snatch his fingers away. Then, lazily, as if it took too much effort, he simply stopped and allowed him to keep his fingers touching his. Yugi was not sure if that was because of the extra warmth he offered him, or if it was just because he didn't care enough to do it anymore.

Maybe he was winning their little fight after all.

Or not.

Yugi woke up a few hours later to an empty bed but body warmth that the other boy had not previously possessed while resting in the sheets next to him. It was obvious that he had been there only moments before. Yugi wondered if maybe that was what had stirred him out of his rest in the first place.

The other boy had not been so receptive to sleep in the first place. And Yugi himself had had so many issues after having skipped out on it for far too long in his absence formerly. He did not think that he had slept at all—maybe three hours at the most, in eighteen days—and now he had been snatched away from a dream. He had been so deeply involved in it formerly and now it was impossible to focus on again.

It had to be the most rest he had gotten in a while. It was far better than what he managed on his own at any given time now that he was so enamored with this boy. Even if it had only been for two or three hours.

He yawned softly. His stomach growled and he winced. Then he stretched himself out and lightly ran his fingers over the spot the other boy had rested in. He was sure sometime in the night that they had become tangled together completely. He was sure he had woken at some point due to it, that their legs had been tied, hands still touching. The other boy…he thought he had twisted closed enough to press his ear to his chest and listen for his heartbeat, his head under his chin.

But he was not certain. It seemed more like a dream than anything else. He did not know that it was possible they could have done such a thing. That pose seemed questionable and almost wondrous, childish even. It was frustrating to think that he might be so exhausted like that.

He wanted it to be real, as selfish a desire as that was. It was just so desperate an idea. He wanted to grasp it, hold it tightly never let it go…

He was unsure but he thought the other boy had been gone from the room only a handful of seconds. It seemed far more likely too, considering. The bed was still warmed, if only slightly. His aura was just beginning to fade, residing only as wisps of light chills which caressed his skin like sunbeams.

Yugi sat up and rolled his shoulders out, looking around for a moment. Then he glanced towards the nightstand, alarm pricking his senses. Surprise made his stomach drop. The Puzzle wasn't there…

He nearly bit through his cheek with tension. He nearly toppled over the edge of the nightstand. The Puzzle lay on the ground, seemingly glowing, and now that Yugi stared at it, he thought he scented something like burning flesh. It was almost dissipated but there was just enough to make him tilt his head in question.

Yugi furrowed his brows.

There was no question of why it smelled like that, nor why it had moved.

He had tried to take it.

Why was the question, however.

When was the second.

How it had burned him was the third.

Yugi frowned as he stared at it and reached down to snatch it by its thick chain. He pulled it up, then slipped it over his head again. It seemed to grow warm for a split second, then became cold as it always was, rivaling the chill of the other teen's skin.

He ran his fingers over the gold for a moment. Then he frowned before glancing at the skylight and narrowed his eyes. He took in the clouds and how white they appeared to his eyes. Then he licked his lips and smiled, momentarily forgetting about the other boy and the questions multiplying in his head.

Eventually—maybe even later that day—snow would fall.

That would be a winter pleasure.


	11. Chapter XI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: Cursing should be relatively mild but sometimes grows a little more at times, Season 0 Yami...and he's a little more unhinged than usual, so keep that in mind.  
> Note: There are mentions of blood, some graphic images of death, sensual moments and feelings, touches of violence/abuse  
> Update Schedule: Since I’ve already completed and posted this story on ff, I am going to try to update it weekly with the edits around updating on ff as well.  
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer’s block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it is appreciated. Please and thank you.  
> WARNING! A LARGE MAJORITY OF THIS IS VIOLENCE AND BLOODSHED! And some heavy delusions in Yami's mind that will make sense later. GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF VIOLENCE/BLOODSHED AND HINTS OF INSANITY! This does help to give you more an idea of just how dangerously out of his mind Yami actually IS. And how much worse he can become when things becomes stressful for him.  
> BUT! If you want to skip the description of the near-kill, you can either skip the chapter or simply read the dialogue. There isn't much dialogue in it but you it will give you enough of an idea of what's going on, or at least it should anyways. You DO get a hint of just how Yami's mind works with MOST situations/interactions where Yugi is involved and how violently he tends to react to things in general (but this situation especially, obviously).  
> I'm sorry for the wait. I got really busy and time was consumed so it got kind of hard to keep on schedule. But I should be back to weekly updates by next week.

Chapter XI

"Dude, wow, holy shit. I didn't know you had a twin!" Tristan commented, eyes wide as they looked towards the door. His mouth had fallen open and he was staring in absolute shock. Yugi would have found it priceless  _if_ he hadn't known instinctively that he was referring to him. The small teen spun around, eyes wide and hopeful, his heart skipping and his mouth dry for a moment.

And then he saw him and the world seemed to shift just slightly.

His exuberance made his blood hot and his marrow molten. His lips attempted to curl up into a wide grin of happiness and relief.

He was here.

And he was okay.

After his disappearance for the last few days, he had thought something might have gone wrong. But the boy looked as he always did, predatory and powerful, with bright red eyes and sharp features.

The taller teen was looking around himself slowly. His head was not turned any which way, but his eyes were scanning rapidly. Yugi imagined he could take it all in with minimal effort, that he was counting the bodies in the room with them.

Whether that was simply curiosity or if he was looking for him was another question altogether, however. But then why else would the boy be here? He hadn't been too impressed with the arcade before. So why would he be now?

Dark red eyes glinted violently beneath the fluorescent lights. The games lent them a rather vicious glare. His lashes cut parts of them in half, shading them so that his pupils looked larger, but Yugi could see even with the distance how reflective his eyes were.

Finally, as if acknowledging his thoughts, his eyes snapped to him. They flickered and then burned and his head slowly turned to face him more completely. His gaze narrowed faintly, glittering with something like pure malice and hatred. And for a single split second Yugi almost thought he might speak. It didn't matter if it was out loud or in his head, he had just thought he might. But it passed almost immediately.

Instead his eyes narrowed further and flitted away, a muscle in his jaw twitching as his jaws clenched. A girl had come up from the crowd behind him, opening her mouth as she came closer.

When he spun on her it was a violent movement. The swiftness made her falter and stumble back a step, shocked. Yugi stiffened, wondering if perhaps he might lash out at her. How was he supposed to stop him when he was halfway across the arcade? His stomach was in knots and his mouth was dry again.

But then he heard a rumbling snarl, low and cold, brusque and terrible, in the air. He could not hear the words, but the current they traveled on was impossible to miss. He thought of security dogs snapping their teeth and snarling low in their throats. He imagined flashes of enamel and blood spraying the air.

But the girl's face merely turned bright red and then she stumbled back another step. Yugi watched her and then the other boy, eyes wide. Abruptly he spun on his heel, moving towards him before he could blink.

It seemed to take him only two strides, swift and stiff, to bring him in front of him. Yugi leaped up from his stool. He couldn't tell if he seemed more excited or startled, like a small dog presented a treat or cowering as its master threatened to strike out. But he didn't want to give the red-eyed boy the chance to sink his teeth into his friends as well. It did not help, either, that he was also impatient to be able to speak to him.

Which of these two desires was more prominent, Yugi didn't know.

"I need to speak with you."

The words came out in a low growl. His eyes flashed and flickered towards his friends. He looked both unnerved and dangerous, as if he were challenging them. Yugi nodded wordlessly, then cast a glance towards them as well and immediately wished that he hadn't.

Tea looked stunned, blinking wide eyes. He could see her jaw twitching slightly with a movement that said she wanted to ask what was going on but was too afraid to. Joey looked too surprised to do much more than sit up straight and stare with wide brown eyes. And Tristan seemed to possess the best self-preservation instincts between all of them. He was tightly wound, like a bowstring pulled too tight, the idea of fleeing prominent in his face. It was as if the boy's ice cold aura had rushed over him and his instincts were locked in a dance of fight-or-flight.

"Give me a second, guys."

His voice was enough to make them blink. Collectively, shaken, they nodded at him, actions awkward as they pointedly avoided looking at the red-eyed boy in front of him. Yugi opened his mouth to say something further. But then his wrist was caught in a vice grip and he winced painfully as he was tugged towards the entrance.

He hoped to the gods that the others hadn't seen that. It was bad enough that they had always assumed he would end up with Tea. Now they might come across his grabbing him like that as some form of domestic abuse. Yugi stumbled after him the first couple of steps, shocked by the force put into the movements. Either his legs were twice as long as his all of the sudden, or he was barely resisting the urge to stomp his feet.

It was only when they got out there that he realized it was his restraint that had made his movements so heavy and awkward. Yugi was stiff with shock at the idea. The other boy had barely resisted the urge to spin around and claw his throat open. His instinct to destroy him had been dampened only by the longer strides and vice grip on his wrist.

Yugi yelped loudly as he hit the brick wall. His head jerked with pain and spots appeared in his vision. The boy must not have wanted him to know and this was his punishment for finding out. Pain shot through his system. The hand around his wrist released. And the other was wrapped around his throat instantly. The small teen was pinned there. The fingers squeezed just tightly enough that he couldn't fight away the involuntary, breathless gasp that left him. He squirmed violently in his grip, then froze again.

"What the  _fuck_ have you  _done_ to me?" he snarled viciously. He sounded like a rabid animal, closing in on his throat. He heard his teeth click when he shut his mouth again. Then his fingers tightened. Yugi saw stars bursting behind his eyes. And, as if burned, the other boy abruptly released him.

His own throat had constricted too harshly from the pain. He bit back a whimper at the sensation. He forced his fingers to fold into his palm. He wasn't about to show Yugi weakness by rubbing at the stinging flesh on his neck. How Yugi had managed to keep from clawing at his wrists and struggling was a mystery to him.

How had he even managed to not scream?

Then again, he supposed the way his windpipe had been crushed for that brief second would have kept him silent regardless…

The moment that Yugi blinked his eyes open again was when he was tossed back into the wall. The pain split up and down his spine in waves. He yelped, eyes wide and startled. The pained expression in his gaze made the other boy bristle. His hand locked around his throat again. His palm was cold, resting loosely around his neck. Yugi knew without tempting fate that to try to slip away would cause him to react. And if he reacted, there was no doubt in his mind that he wouldn't make it to see the next day.

He was staring at him, however. His expression was something he couldn't read. And, when he blinked, the other boy pressed his palm a bit more fully into his throat. Yugi thought it was because he had not answered him. But the reality was that the other boy could not bring himself to pull away completely.

He was not sure what inside of him possessed him to keep it there. But he thought perhaps his nerve endings were soothed by the warmth the other offered him. The skin was reddening drastically and the blood was rising furiously to the surface. Where it touched his palm, it made him feel warm as if his nerves were dancing.

Yugi blinked at him in open bewilderment. He swallowed hard. Then he began to move. The boy watched him, expectant of him to lash out. But Yugi merely stopped and the boy stiffened drastically with wide eyes.

 _What do you mean_?

"You know damn well what I mean," he spat. He was bristling but there was an overwhelming confusion which came from them both. And it piled up inside of his brain like firewood. He curled his lip, his palm beginning to tingle and burn faintly now. But he refused to pull it away, instead staring.

He couldn't give Yugi an advantage by letting him go.

Keeping him pinned was the best strategy he had.

He was dangerous to him.

He could easily kill him without even meaning to.

But his thoughts were racing now. They fell back into a familiar pattern, one of which he hated more than anything. What would possibly be going on that this brat had nothing to do with? How could that even be  _possible_?  _Was_ it possible? He found it almost impossible to consider.

He had dragged him there. He had bound him to a mortal shell. He had unwittingly drawn them both into a game of survival like this. He had everything to do with his faults and his weaknesses and his sickness and his restlessness…

Didn't he?

But, even if he did not…

He needed something physical. He needed something that he could actually lunge and lash out at. The smaller teen was there. He was the one who had drawn him there. It made him his primary threat. It made him his only possible target. Everything revolved around him when the truth was brought to light.

He was the physical manifestation of everything which  _was wrong with him_.

He was the one able to draw blood from him. He was the one who had severed his powers singlehandedly. He was the one who had… _broken him_. He had managed to break him somehow. Because he felt jagged beneath the surface of his own skin. And his mind was splintered between instincts he didn't know how to handle.

And no humans seemed to struggle like this.

And Yugi had to be the one who had done this to him.

He  _had to be the one to do this to him_.

He had made him into this form. He had pushed into something that should never have  _existed_. And he didn't know what the hell he was supposed to do about it all.

"You did this! You did this to me."

Yugi reached up to gently touch the sides of his wrist. His fingers squeezed the bone lightly in warning. Had he been tightening his grip when he spoke? It was hard to breathe now. He blinked and glanced at their hands for a moment. Then he loosened his fingers. His breath came into his lungs in a strained manner, then blew outwards in a choked rasp through his nose.

Yugi weaseled a finger beneath his thumb, trying to pull it back some. It was pressed too tightly into his Adam's apple. It was impossible to talk with it there. And if nothing else, the boy had made it clear that his voice was unwelcome in his head.

Yugi didn't want to make him any more uncomfortable than he already was. He might not kill him just yet. And pushing him too far could be what threw him over the edge. He seemed self-destructive now, far from as controlled as he had been formerly.

If he pushed him hard enough, the boy might snap.

And then he'd kill him for sure…

"I don't know what you mean," he admitted. He frowned and looked at him for a moment, shaking his head slowly. He debated telling him to move his hand down some but then fell silent again. His response had warranted him more attention than he had originally assumed it would.

The other boy was weighing his words now. His red eyes were unsure as he stared at him. His expression had turned from a snarl to careful consideration. His lips pulled back into a tight line that mirrored something of a grimace. His head tilted the slightest bit to the right, the smallest fraction of a movement. His jaw seemed to be working as if he were chewing his cheek or a muscle was ticking beneath his skin.

His eyes flickered between his. It darkened before they grew brighter. And then they mellowed in shade, boring into his unhappily.

Was he telling him the truth? Was he truly oblivious to what was happening to him? Did he not feel everything that he was experiencing? It would be a cruel reality to see that he was not experiencing the same as he.

He had told him on several occasions that he did not know what he meant, that he had no understanding of what was going on. He did not seem like he was going to start lying out of the blue like this. His mind was leading him towards believing such a thing, but it seemed improbably to him.

He wanted to snarl at him angrily and whimper in his own misery, unsure of himself. He was so tired of everything going on in his head. This new world pissed him off more than he could explain. He could not even articulate how much he  _detested it all_.

There were so many things  _wrong_ with it all. He had no words to explain or even images in his head to help describe it all. He did not know how to push his memories on the other or even if he wanted to. There were some things in his mind which were too horrifying to show the human boy. He would become scarred for life and that was not something he could find it in himself to be responsible for.

And any emotional damage inflicted on Yugi…it would come to him as well, wouldn't it? This miserable life just would not let up on him.

The realization caused his teeth to dig harder into his cheek. For a split second he thought he might have bitten completely through it. His skin felt numb and his gums almost nonexistent. A disconnection had pushed through him before he could think straight.

The smaller teen was blinking at the emotion in his eyes now. His own gaze had grown twice as wide as usual. He blinked, then pressed his hand forcefully against his throat again, curling his lips back. Yugi took the warning without trouble, staying silent now as he merely stared at him.

For a moment they merely stared at each other. His thoughts filtered one by one from his head. He felt as if they were leaves caught on branches, the wind stirring too violently to allow them to remain attached. His mind was disturbingly empty now. He chewed his cheek again and lessened his grip.

But his skin still prickled with uncertainty. His mouth felt strange and isolated, as if the nerves had all cut themselves away. His body heat seemed to have once again dropped substantially. But it seemed more as if it were in this one area.

Yugi thought for a moment that he might speak again. But then the door swung open. His eyes shot to the entrance, widening in horror. Panic made his stomach twist violently now. He choked on a breath, lungs tightening hideously.

"Get your hands off my best friend!"

The red-eyed teen did not so much as look at him. His head tilted away for a moment instead. Yugi watched him, his heart lurching. It dropped into his stomach as he saw that the thoughtful expression had left his face. Now his eyes glowed brightly, like freshly spilled blood. His lips peeled back over his teeth, the enamel glistening, and he bore them into a wide smirk as he sneered, " _Make_ me, bitch."

Yugi tried to shake his head. He opened his mouth to tell them all to stop. But something held him frozen. His breath would not leave his lungs. And all he could do was yelp a moment later. The blond shot towards them. Tristan came a second later.

Yugi trembled once. Then he gaped. His heart was skipping. His breathing were strained puffs of white air. He trembled once.

He could try to convince the boy to release him.

Or he could attempt to tell them he was fine.

His look-alike's smirk grew tenfold. He looked like a shark, all teeth and gums. The red against the white made Yugi's heart skip harder. The small teen flinched. Joey got a face full of his shoe when he pivoted just enough to kick him. Tristan watched the blond hit the ground. His eyes were wide in shock. His mouth fell open.

He hadn't even truly seen the boy move.

Tea let out a shriek for them to stop. The brunet ignored her and came after him anyways. He got himself punched hard enough to go toppling. He rolled like a rag doll for a foot. Then he stopped, landing limply on top of Joey.

"Stop!" Yugi finally squeaked. He reached up to grab his wrist. Then he squeezed sharply at the bone. His nails were digging into his skin. His bones were rigid beneath the pads of his fingers. They were so thin and sharp. Yugi was nearly deterred by the shock of this sensation. He felt like he was skin and bones.

The movement got him nowhere. The red-eyed boy steadily ignored him. His head tilted and his eyes flickered to the brunette. She was staring at him, horrified. That little shriek of horror continued constantly. She froze upon their eyes locking. But she kept crying out. It was nothing like a scream. But Yugi knew it might develop into one if she continued.

His red eyes narrowed, focused on her completely. "If you should keep shrieking so foolishly, I will kill you next," he snapped.

"Don't!" the blue-violet-eyed teen cried. Yugi sunk his nails into his skin again. Blood was beginning to slowly rise from the crescent-shaped marks. He winced and the pain made him recoil.

The boy was not even looking at him. Instead he continued to stare blankly at Tea. His lips curled back further. She was shaking. Somehow she had fallen silent. Her wide eyes were still horrified.

"Please, just stop for a second…"

The boy remained statuesque for a breath. His eyes flickered to his face. His red gaze were glowing as he sneered, "There goes your second."

"You difficult little prick," the smaller teen breathed. He shook his head. At another time that actually would have made him laugh. But Joey and Tristan were getting up now. And the boy's red eyes were watching them. His eyes were glowing tenfold with laughter. His teeth were gleaming where the light hit them.

His canines seemed sharper than they had before. They were large, imposing, and so predatory it shook him. His grip on his throat was almost nonexistent now. And he knew exactly what that meant for the other two.

"No, guys, don't—" he started, nearly shouting the words.

He listened in some kind of distorted bubble of noise. Tea was screeching now. Her hands were covering her face. The boy dropped him. His wrist slipped from his fingers without effort. His skin was slicked with warm blood.

His lips pulled back more fully. Yugi winced when he lashed out. Joey caught the end of an uppercut. The blond went flying backwards into Tristan. Both of them fell into a heap. They scrambled for their footing again.

The red-eyed boy backed up two steps exactly. Yugi watched with horror as Joey collided with him. The two of them hit the pavement hard. Yugi felt as if his back were burning. The pain was excruciating. Then the adrenaline crashed through him. He couldn't feel it anymore. He blinked, horrified. Had the boy even felt it when Ushio had attacked him?

He drew in a long, deep breath. The two of them rolled with the impact only once. Joey let out a noise of frustration. The other boy laughed out loud. Yugi swore under his breath. Tristan stood aside trying to find an opening. Tea was watching with a hand over her mouth.

Blood was spraying the air now. Yugi couldn't tell whose it was. But he was willing to bet it wasn't the other boy's. He squeezed his eyes shut for a split second. When he opened them again, they were pulling apart.

The red-eyed teen was howling with laughter. It was a barking noise, harsh and defiant. It sounded almost like a choked cough of amusement. Joey stumbled to his feet after a moment. Yugi couldn't see a visible wound at the moment.

The blond rushed him again. The red-eyed teen smirked wider. He sidestepped. Then he caught him by the back of his head. His palm was flat as it smacked the back of his skull. Joey hit the ground with a loud snapping noise.

Yugi trembled.

It sounded like a bone in his face had just broken…

"Stop!" He almost didn't recognize that he was the one speaking. His eyes were wide and terrified. He stumbled forward, staring at Tristan pleadingly. "Don't touch him! Don't—just stop!  _Please_!"

The brunet looked at him as if he was crazy. Tea shrieked, "Yugi, he just—oh my god, Joey isn't  _moving_!"

Yugi turned his head, staring at the other boy in horror. For a long second the red-eyed teen ignored him. But then he caught his eye slightly, a sideways glance from his peripheral. Yugi could see him drawing in a long, annoyed breath. When he let it out again, it was short huff. He leaned over to roll the blond onto his back. His voice was sneer, face twisting with disgust.

"Oh please, I did not harm him too much."

The blond's nose was gushing like a faucet of bright red.

Yugi opened and closed his mouth once, trembling.

The boy shot him a victorious, amused look before turning away again. "See? Perfectly alive…and well. For the moment, anyways."

"No," Yugi snarled, forcing his voice to come out rough and authoritatively. He swallowed hard and then continued. " _Stop it_."

Now the boy blinked slowly once. The expression on his face grew from victorious to startled. He raised his head a little more, but did not look towards him. His expression was that of disbelief now, as if he were not sure he had heard him right. He stared at him, eyes blazing, begging for him to repeat the words. His lips pulled back, jaw twitching violently once.

"Who do you consider yourself to be, child? You, who thinks you can control  _me_?  _You_? The same boy who cannot protect his friends—let alone  _himself_? It is  _you_ who thinks he has the power here? Poor,  _stupid, pathetic_ little boy," he commented leisurely. The undercurrent of his voice was murderous but he barked a laugh as he crouched in front of the blond. He kneeled just enough so that his knee hit his abdomen. Joey screamed, struggling and flailing. His arms pushed at the smaller teen's stomach. He didn't even blink at the touch. Instead he leaned forward and a hand covered his throat. "Hmm, what do you think,  _Joseph_? Should I break your neck or strangle you? Perhaps I should shut your jaw forcefully and plug your nose. Or maybe…ah, yes  _decapitation_ would do you nicely, don't you agree? I have not tried that one yet."

"Yami,  _stop_!"

The outburst made no sense at first. But somehow his body responded. His head snapped towards him instantly. His eyes were bright, dilated with confusion. There was a pulsing ache in both of their heads. The statement seemed to wrap around both of their throats, squeezing. He blinked and Yugi breathed once. He struggled to relax, because otherwise he would be panting.

Adrenaline made the taller boy's legs shake. But Yugi looked as if he might collapse. The pain shared between them lit their blood on fire. He blinked stupidly again. Yugi drew in another deep breath, then forced it out. He didn't want the other boy to know how painful it was. If he saw that, he might try something worse. He had to keep himself upright because if his legs buckled like they threatened, it was over.

He knew it instinctively.

The red-eyed teen would move before he could blink.

He'd kill each and every one of them.

And he'd gladly drop dead on the pavement from murdering Yugi.

The smallest teen gave him a forceful nod. He breathed out a small noise of relief that he'd captured his attention. But it sounded half-strangled as it clawed its way from his throat. "Yeah…yeah, I, uh…Ha, figured out your name," he commented, nodding again. The movement was so jerky he wondered why his neck didn't snap. He drew in another breath but his lungs felt strangled. Then he offered him a small, sheepish smile, and the other boy stared blankly once more. "Now…don't hurt him anymore, okay?"

For a split second it seemed his words were going in one ear and out the other.

Then his eyes narrowed.

His lips curled back.

His teeth glinted.

A snarl rose, scraping upwards and gurgling with its force.

He sounded as if he were choking on blood.

His frame shook once.

His shoulders rose.

And their eyes locked.

Yugi was frozen.

Then he quaked visibly.

The boy was ready to kill him despite the repercussions.

His eyes flashed like broken gems and fallen blood.

The rings around his pupils grew bright for a moment, then spread outwards.

"You…you pathetic…little… _shit_!" he snarled angrily. He lunged forward. Something had grabbed his shirt. He nearly tumbled with the force he'd thrown himself with. Then he caught himself, snarling angrily. Something was touching his arm…

Yugi froze in place, horrified. Joey was holding him there.

The other boy blinked once slowly. His eyes were glowing brighter than ever. His pupils were pinpricks. His fingers flexed. His body turned. His head tilted a fraction. His teeth glistened again. His eyes shot to the blond's. The two of them stared at once another.

Joey wanted to punch him. The red-eyed teen smirked widely. He was too exhausted to raise a hand. Humans were so  _damn easy to kill_.

"Right," he purred, chuckling, "You  _first_."

Yugi was amazed that he even saw him move. One second he was facing him. The next he had Joey's throat in his hands.

" _Leave him alone, Yami_."

He was shaking violently. The fire in his veins threatened to melt him. He gasped and his body felt as if it were immobilized. The force of his outburst stilled them both. The boy's fingers were stuck on Joey's head. There was no doubt in his mind that the teen could and  _would_ tear Joey's head off.

Yugi was panting, gasping. The pain was acute in his chest. Everything seemed to rattle in his senses. His eyes were blurred for a split second. Then they sharpened drastically. He could see every line of shadow, of light, of the drifting touch of an insect in the air. And he knew, instinctively, that it was not his sight he was seeing with.

 _Yami_ …

_Yami…_

Yami…

Yami.

His skull was pounding painfully, unfamiliar as it pulsed through him. The word was echoing in his ears. His skin felt as if it might sear away and melt off his body. His bones were popping beneath his muscles. The pain was sharp and hideous. It made his muscles flinch beneath his flesh. They were snapping and tearing in his ears. And his bones were splintering.

The name was all-consuming, pushing away every other thought. He narrowed his eyes. His vision was beginning to dance. It was scattered. Shadows draped opposite of where they had been before, beneath bright illumination. The signs flickered where they announced that the attractions were open.

It was too bright where the shadows should have been. It burned his eyes and his lungs were rattling in his chest. He couldn't breathe properly. Spots were beginning to appear behind his eyes. His vision was too shattered to see straight.

He would not have been surprised if they were bleeding inside of their sockets now. His mouth was hot and tasted of it. His nails felt thick and heavy, laden with liquid. His skin felt sickly wet.

Had he begun to sweat again?

He was too cold to understand how that might be possible.

 _Yami_.

Yami.

The word seemed to blanket him. It curled into his brain and spread through him like venom. The strength of it made his muscles burst with pain. His bone marrow was heavy, molten and burning away.

The boy was binding him.

He was binding him to him.

The boy was…

He was…

He had  _named_ him.

His hands tightened around Joey's throat again. His eyes were glowing around the pupils. The pain was hideous as it raced through him. He may not have been able to kill Yugi. But he could do just as well. His friends were his beacon. They were the physical manifestations of his  _strength_.

He could kill them.

And he would do  _just as good_ in ending the boy himself.

His nails sank into his flesh. Blood spilled upwards and into his nails. It pooled there and the sensation was so delicious he could have howled with pleasure. His fingers tingled. The skin had shredded like paper. He gripped harder, about to rip through the wiry muscles. They would fold beneath his grip like a toothpick snapped in half. It would be effortless. The bones would separate instantly beneath his tug. He would split it straight down the middle of the vertebrae.

He'd tug his head straight off and let it roll.

And then he'd laugh when Yugi screamed and—

He went to pull. A hand touched his cheek. His head turned by its influence. His nerve endings were burning. His muscles were aching sharply beneath his skin. His lungs constricted. His throat felt as if it were being stabbed. His head was swimming. His cheek felt as if it had caught on fire.

His vision was fuzzy, almost watery.

Was he crying?

He'd never cried before.

Was he even capable of it?

He doubted it. The tears would probably be blood leaking out.

His lips pulled back. The snarl in his chest was loud and murderous. He chomped his teeth defensively. But the smaller boy ignored him. Yugi's mouth was against his the moment his teeth clicked together. His lips were soft, but somehow firm at the same time.

His lips tingled and burned, feeling as if they might shatter. His cheek ached and his skin felt bruised and sore. His throat gave way to a small, desperate whimper that lasted only a second. He was shaking where his fingers were still posed on Joey's throat.

He was burning to death where he and Yugi touched. His head felt as if a war drum were playing between his ears. His thoughts were nonexistent safe for registering where he hurt. His fingers felt slick but cold.

His lungs felt weak and strained. He thought his tongue was shriveling and burning away against Yugi's. His heart was beating too quickly. His face felt as if it might melt away beneath the smaller boy's touch.

 _Yami_ …

He shivered.

Yami.

He nearly vomited.

The boy had just condemned him.

 _More than he already had_.

He nearly laughed into his mouth. His eyes had grown owlish. His grip loosened slightly. Joey's blood soaked the pads of his fingers. His stomach twisted painfully. The idea left him startled. The numbness of his jaw traveled through him. His head was spinning violently now.

Did he actually know what he had just done to him?

Or was this just some kind of childish decision he had made on his part to  _give him a name_?

It was almost as demeaning as if the boy had gone about purchasing a cage to keep him in. He imagined he would feed him twice a day, out of the same bowl or plate or whatever he decided to use. It was like he had snapped a collar around his neck.

Then again…the boy already  _wore_ a godforsaken collar.

And he wore one because of this…

 _He wore one too_.

He blinked and tried to think of a way to fight back. His mind was circulating violently. His body jerked, sporadic in its twitches. He thought of whirlpools and stars bursting in the sky. He thought of blood dripping to the earth and long, painful screams. Bile rose upwards in the back of his throat. His body was burning again.

He was lost in some kind of forsaken place between insanity and sharp disbelief. He was teetering. He could fall at any moment. If his sanity was lost, he would have  _nothing left_.

Nothing more than the addition of a  _name_.

An unwanted, pathetic little word attached to his being.

Attached to his  _existence_.

One that gave him more life than he needed.

One that left him completely if not  _sorely_ stranded.

One that left him bound to this world.

One that…

That gave this boy…

 _Too much power_ …

 _Yami_ …

How could he possibly do this to him?

He had brought him here without purpose.

He had forced him to suffer in this broken haze that was just far too strong.

He had brought him into a world where things were too bright and loud and there were  _more_ than just the multiple voices which had so constantly whispered in his ears.

He had given him a life that he had not wanted or  _needed_.

He had given him a form he had  _no desire for_.

He had engraved in him the dire need of a broken half that relied on the other just for  _survival_.

And now he had bound him to him completely.

He had bound him to this point of no return. He could no longer even truly leave him now. Should he have found a loophole somehow, he was stranded. Because now Yugi was and would always  _have to be_ his  _center,_ his  _focus_.

Why…?

 _Yami_ drew a deep breath when Yugi pulled away. He was shaking, gulping in air. His lungs were too tight and his body felt as if it were still burning away. He could not look away from those large blue-violet eyes. Those irises were gleaming with a desperate plea for him to listen. He was begging for mercy for his blond friend.

He stared blankly. A gurgling noise registered in the back of his mind.

Joey was breathing. He was gurgling.

Because he was using his nose still, rather than his mouth.

He caught the gasp of a noise that was released a moment later. His eyes flickered towards the source in confusion. He was startled, confused, but mostly numb. The brunette concubine, she had her mouth covered, staring. The boy next to her let out a surprised grunt.

He slowly turned his eyes back on Yugi. The smaller teen was still staring at him with that terrified, pleading expression. His voice was slowly but surely slithering into his ears, circling his brain. He was trying to talk to him but he could not comprehend a single word of it. He blinked slowly, staring at him again.

Yugi tilted his head. His eyes were bright with concerned. He reached out.

He stumbled backwards violently, trying to put distance between them. Yugi followed for a second. A hand touched his forehead. He smacked it away. His shoulders were rising, shaking. His breathing was coming out funny. His heart was hammering and he couldn't understand why.

And, oh, by the gods, did his lungs ache. His head was beginning to feel light again. Yugi's voice was curling around in his head. A foreign, worried ache was beginning to assault his senses. His skin felt unnaturally heavy and colder than usual.

His vision was still blurred around the edges. Laces of black burst out in the corners of his vision, like clumped eyelashes. His ears were ringing. The blond's gurgling made his head pound.

He got closer again, about to crouch down and speak. He was going to try and make the other boy focus somewhat. He needed him to listen and then let Joey go. He needed him to just calm down and—

 _Yami_ shoved him away as if he had just coated him in gasoline and was ready to strike the match.  _Yami_ was the one who stepped back with a snarling noise in the back of his throat. Yugi blinked stupidly at the sound, staring.

He straightened more fully. He could feel him again. Whereas he had been experiencing it in mild bubbles of emotion, now it came in bursts as if a huge dam had opened and the contents pushed forth. They could feel each other again, tenfold what they'd felt before then.

And the wave of emotions that were slamming into him threatened to send him toppling…

"Yami?"

The surprised tone made him shake his head violently. He snarled louder, the noise akin a roar. Then he stepped back once more. Yugi opened his mouth again.  _Yami_ turned and made a run for it.

He stepped forward to stop him. He reached a hand out and opened his mouth to say his name again. But the shadows seemed to have eaten him up. The strides he took were too large for Yugi to catch up to. He was gone a moment later. The smaller teen found himself straining his ears, struggling for a clue as to where he had gone.

They could hear him crashing through one of the back alleys. A chain link fence rattled. All of them caught it when he snarled again. A dumpster creaked heavily. The metal trashcan screeched as it was kicked and crinkled inwards the fence rattled again. A low grinding noise like the dumpster being moved caused them all to freeze.

In the forefront of his mind Yugi could see it perfectly. It was like a new movie playing before his eyes. Yami had accidentally landed on the dumpster and slipped off the side. He had gotten blindsided by the trashcan when it had toppled over.

He had kicked it away from him, then gotten up. The dumpster had been pushed onto its side. The contents littered the strip of pavement. It was a warning system, a strategic move for him. It would tell him if Yugi was following him. If the smaller teen was brave enough to, he would step on the trash and Yami would hear it.

Or he was attempting to create a barrier against him. And, then, the bonus effect of it was that even if he did find his way around the barrier, the noise would give him the chance to flee sooner.

He thought about it for only a nanosecond. No, he didn't need to follow Yami. There was no need at all to bother. All he would do was anger him further.

Yugi turned away, blinking and looking around stupidly. What had he just done exactly? He shook his head, stunned, feeling bewildered and tired. Then he crouched down to the blond's side.

He had to forcefully ignore it when Tea and Tristan both swapped looks and then stared at him. He reached over to tip Joey's head to the side, looking over the cuts. They were small, shallow, but the blood was smeared across his pale skin where his fingers had shaken and slipped. He looked okay when Yugi wiped at it with his jacket sleeve. They would most likely ache for a while, more so if he moved a certain way, but beyond that he thought they would heal fine.

He ignored the way his shoulders felt stiff with uncertainty. Joey was still gurgling softly. A little snot bubble painted bright red came from his right nostril. Yugi breathed out in relief, overjoyed to find that Yami had not somehow managed to break his rips or crush his lungs.

He had aimed for the face and his abdomen. Unlike when he had gone up against Ushio, he had been more or less merciful in his attacks. Though he had almost ripped his head off, he had not left him with internal bleeding. He had not left him with broken limbs and the possibility of dying just by remaining as he was.

Yugi blinked and settled back onto the asphalt. He didn't know what more he was supposed to do. Joey would be fine. He was just banged up, and he'd probably be sore for a  _long time_ after that. He was sure Yami had left him with a little reminder of what it was like to cross him.

He would probably complain more about not being able to do more damage and hoping that he ran into him again so that he could pop him across the face a few times. He would want more than anything to even the score rather than allow anyone to worry about him.

He would brag about how he was going to— _very colorfully,_ he knew—beat the snot out of him the next time they crossed paths. He would make it seem as if he were both the martyr and the hero of the story. He would argue where his and Tristan's stories contradicted. He would use it to woo Mai into going onto a date with him—pity or otherwise—so that he could recount the story more vividly.

He would have everyone's attention with the bruises he'd be wearing.

Yugi swallowed thickly and looked towards where Yami had run off to.

Would the other boy have bruises or cuts?

Would he have small scrapes from where they collided and he landed on his back on the pavement?

Would the smaller teen share his aches the next day?

Would Yami be okay overnight on his own like this?

He had looked so scared and horrified. He had seemed so…vulnerable when he had pulled away again. He had not responded to him and he had not hurled an insult or a threat. He had not even gone after Joey again. He had not even looked at the others. Something was incredibly wrong with him. No doubt Yugi had caused it like he seemed to have caused everything else wrong with him.

He felt sick as he looked at the asphalt.

What if he was not okay? What if something happened in the absence that he knew Yami would put them through? What if he got hurt and couldn't do anything to help himself? What if he got killed somehow and Yugi had no way of knowing?

Was that possible?

He could not be sure. But he was relatively certain that he was slipping into a momentary panic. His thoughts didn't seem to make sense or the scenarios in his head possible at this point.

The fact was that Yami had nearly killed Joey.

Yugi had called him Yami.

And Yami had run off when he kissed him to distract him from killing Joey.

It was an immense, ever-continuing circle of chaos that refused to slow in his mind's eye. There were so many things that seemed so impossible—and always had—that had turned on themselves and become absolute reality.

He swallowed again. He forced himself to look down at his friend again. The blond had protected him even when he was going to be killed. He was confronted by Yugi's own  _personal death_ and he had stood between the two of them in order to protect him.

Yet, maybe…if he hadn't…he would have been able to reach out to Yami as well.

Or perhaps the pain would have when he hurt Yugi and was forced to experience the same. Maybe it would have been enough to make him stop short and listen to him. Maybe he…

Yugi blinked.

Yami would not have stopped.

Even if he had beaten Yugi to a bloody pulp and was inflicted the same.

Even if Tristan and Joey had managed to pull him off Yugi.

Someone would have died if he had not intervened somehow.

Kissing him had been the only logical thing he could have done.

It was the only thing that would have made him hesitate. It was the only reason he  _had_ hesitated. When he had grabbed him, Yami had tried to snarl at him. But when he had kissed him, he had folded to his will.

He had been in shock and the window of opportunity had been short. He had barely managed to stop him when it came down to it. Even by horrifying him—however he had managed that—he had not been able to stop him for long. Physical contact and the link between them flaring so powerfully as it did had scared him off.

 _That_ was the only thing that had saved  _any of them_.

Silence seemed to creep through his mind. The air was blissfully cold as it touched his pounding head. He squeezed his eyes shut, breathing deeply. He focused on the numbness that his empty mind offered. He didn't want to think anymore. He didn't want to have to worry so much. It was a blessing how much quiet seemed to crowd his head now.

When he opened his eyes again, Tristan and Tea were still standing there, frozen. And he almost imagined he could  _hear_ the millions of question being bred in their minds. He ignored the fact that he distinctly heard Tristan whispering about his sexuality. He ignored it when Tea asked how long that had been going on. He ignored the soft-spoken statement that Tristan made about how Yugi seemed to have known him pretty well. He ignored it when Tea all but  _begged_ him to take that comment back.

He didn't know what hurt worse, the idea that they were talking behind his back like this or the fact that he was allowing them to.


	12. Chapter XII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: Cursing should be relatively mild but sometimes grows a little more at times, Season 0 Yami...and he's a little more unhinged than usual, so keep that in mind.  
> Note: There are mentions of blood, some graphic images of death, sensual moments and feelings, touches of violence/abuse  
> Update Schedule: Since I’ve already completed and posted this story on ff, I am going to try to update it weekly with the edits around updating on ff as well.  
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer’s block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it is appreciated. Please and thank you.  
> Again, I'm so sorry for not updating on time. Work is insane. And I haven't been able to motivate myself enough to start writing (or editing) anything when I get home after a shift. But I might be able to be get a second update up before the end of the week.  
> So! If you've read this far, if you don't remember the warning about Yami from the first chapter, I don't blame you. But, just to refresh you, Yami is EXTREMELY manipulative in this series, ranging from mentally/emotionally to flat out lying and/or twisting events around to suit his purposes. You guys make the judgment call on his character in this chapter, but he's elusive towards Yugi for a very good reason. Also, some of the dialogue and actions are definitely in there for foreshadowing in the sequels. You can definitely find them on your own and make your own judgments about them too.  
> Also, the conversation between Yugi and the others was taken out of an earlier draft of the story to be used later in the mini-series. That's why you're only getting an explanation about it instead of all the dialogue. I found that it works a LOT better in a couple of the sequels than it does here.  
> Any mistakes are totally mine. I haven't found enough time to actually go through and proofread each chapter and all of its edits like I normally would before posting but I tried. If there's something really bad, feel free to tell me. If you don't care to, that's fine too. Either way, just enjoy the chapter.

Chapter XII

Yami had not shown himself again for around two months now. Yugi officially marked this as the longest amount of time he had ever felt so completely alone. He was somewhat severed from the outside world considering his emotional state. Everything had begun to fall flat, his bubble doing well to contain most of his reality and keep him at a distance from outside influences. The noise was dulled and the world was only steps away from perfection there.

It was a disgusting delusional little trick of his mind that left him broken and wondering. He could not really remember the last time he had slept through the night. He could not recall when food had tasted good enough to swallow. When a laugh left his mouth, it was often too hollow.

He felt as if he were constantly stumbling around. It was almost as if he could not keep his balance or find his footing. His feet refused to actually move when he commanded they do so.

The last time he had bothered to peer at his reflection in the mirror, he’d been disgusted. He’d flipped the lights off again immediately. His skin had grown sunken, too tight against his bones, taking on a paler hue that made him look half dead. His face looked unnaturally stretched out.

He shivered as he crawled into his bed. A glance at the Puzzle on the nightstand made his stomach toss. It seemed to glimmer faintly in the darkness as he pulled the cord of his lamp and drenched the room in moonlight and shadows. He snuggled into his pillow, pulling the blankets over himself tightly.

He blinked tiredly, wondering if the shadows on his walls and across his carpet might stretch and morph within his weary mind. Yugi yawned softly and closed his eyes again. He thought maybe his heart was too slow. Or perhaps it was too fast. But it was still a soothing, soft noise to listen to in the dark before falling asleep.

It took the extra weight on the mattress to draw him out of the half dream state he had begun to fall into. It was somewhere between memory and consciousness, thoughts that were tangled and far from comprehendible. His mind struggled to recall, giving him drifting thoughts to accompany his grogginess.

He had been somewhere within the memory of making up the story about how he had met Yami. What was it that he had told them? For a moment his thoughts struggled, crashing into each other. Then they seemed to crash upon the answer like two cars colliding violently in the street.

He had told them he had met Yami at a party in the states when he had gone with his grandpa for vacation over the summer. He’d claimed he was feeling a little down when he had run into him. The two of them had wound up in bed together somehow—he claimed he was drunk and didn’t completely remember it—and when he had woken up Yami had given him the cold shoulder.

He had not known beforehand but Yami was extremely antisocial and hardly wanted to date. He had given each of the girls or guys to ask him that he didn’t want to be tied down, the usual all-American kind of response for bachelors. Yugi had found out about his antisocial nature when someone had laughed about him finally getting laid. They’d claimed it was a miracle. Yugi had been horrified and embarrassed but Yami had merely grown further angered because of the way everyone seemed to be watching him then.

Yugi had ditched him then, desperate to make sure that he did not speak to him again. He’d made the plan not to see him again if it was possible. He didn’t want to see him again, at least not in the same way he had before. The thought of sleeping with him like he had had left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Yugi had found out that he was not the nicest when he had run into him again later. Someone had flirted with Yami and he’d wound up arguing with him angrily. He’d found out that he had a mean streak the size of the states and Australia piled together. His temper was ferocious and extreme upon being provoked. He had also found out, weeks later, that Yami lived in Domino as well and even went to their school though they had never crossed paths before.

Yugi had lied as if it were a profession when he said that he did not think Yami would have actually hurt Joey as he had claimed he would. He falsely defended him with everything inside of him that if Joey had not rushed him Yami would never have even turned his attention on him.

He said that when they had run across each other earlier in the week they had made plans to talk about a relationship. Yami clearly had no desire for one but Yugi had refused to sleep with him again like that. They were trying to reach a compromise. Yami was reluctant but he was willing to at least listen to him about what he wanted. They were going to meet up later and talk again, because Yugi had to run and Yami was not in the mood to hold up his end of the conversation any longer.

Yami had found him that day at the arcade for the first time in a week. He had only been so upset because one of those girls had flirted with him when he’d entered. He absolutely _hated_ when anyone flirted with him because of how antisocial he was. During the explanation, Yugi had struggled to put enough emphasis on the term to describe just _how_ horrendously antisocial Yami truly was. He’d insisted he was not physically abusive, as they might have thought when they ran outside to check on him.

They had been arguing violently. When Yugi had lost his temper and tried to leave, Yami had grabbed him and pinned him there. He had panicked upon thinking that he was leaving. He wasn’t trying to hurt him; he’d just tried to keep him there to continue the conversation. He’d also begun to use his pulse as an indicator of whether he might have been lying to him or not.

Yugi claimed that he would not have attacked Joey if he had not rushed him. He’d said Joey had provoked him when he came for him like that. Yami was extremely volatile, defensive and threatening. He was vicious when he was cornered—or perceived himself to be in any way—and he had tried to defend himself when Joey tried to get him away from Yugi.

And Yugi had come to realize, halfway through that statement, that a part of that had not been a lie. Yami may have been furious but if Joey had not risen to his bait, he might not have tried anything. He had the unconscious thought that Yami might have simply ignored their existence there, speaking and focusing solely on Yugi. He would not have cared if someone had walked by them and tried to separate them verbally.

It would have been only the moment that someone attempted to touch them that he would have lashed out. If they had threatened him, he thought he might have sneered until they either backed off or tried to attack. And then he would have put them down like a sick animal.

He knew for a fact that Yami would have baited Joey. He would have sneered at him until he responded. But he did not truly think the red-eyed teen might have hurt him first. And he thought it mere coincidence that Yami had known Joey’s hotheaded nature would be his undoing in the situation.

Even in the groggy state of his mind he recalled the conversation clearly despite the dimming dreamscape. And he thought again, somewhere in his subconscious, that maybe it was just that Joey had posed too great a threat to him in that moment. He had been unable to ignore him. And he’d reacted furiously.

Yugi realized that the only reason Yami might have gone so far as to threaten to sever his head was because he was threatened. Ushio had proven himself a threat before. He’d “stepped into Yami’s domain”. And that, in some twisted way, made more sense to him now in the darkness that moment than it had ever in the daylight. It made his head spin. Yugi was Yami’s domain.

And that made something else abundantly clear.

Joey had already harmed him at one point. He’d done so before Yami had ever set foot in his life. He had done similar to Ushio in that aspect. And that had made him easy pickings for Yami. The rest of them were safe for the most part. But, where Yami was concerned, Joey had stepped too far into his domain, and he’d come too close. And Yugi had easily attacked him in retribution.

Still partially able to slip under the lull of sleep, Yugi attempted to snuggle into his pillow once more. A shift of the comforter over his skin jolted him, however. He stopped short, a light but steady weight added to the mattress. He blinked, then rolled over onto his back in order to be able to sit up in his growing confusion.

The covers pulled tight when he started to bring his right leg up into a bent position. He was still half-expecting it to be his imagination and that the blanket had just gotten caught somewhere beneath his hip and flank. He yawned softly, a mere coo of a noise. But it died almost immediately again. Realization began to burrow forth from the back of his mind. He opened his eyes again, at first in miniscule slits.

He thought his mind might be playing tricks on him at first. He thought if he reached out there would be nothing but the darkness of his room, the gentle and sparing touch of moonlight through the window.

Instead, he found the other boy in front of him.

He was stretched out over his hips. His arms straddled them. His spine was fully extended from where his legs were bunched beneath him. His knees were bent. His left was pressed firmly into the mattress. His weight was slight. The heel of his foot dug into his ass cheeks the other leg dangled from the side of the bed. Yugi could see the toes of his sneaker pressed against the floor as his eyes flickered down.

His face was the most visible point in the room. His eyes glowed fiercely, like those of a jungle cat or perhaps a hellish hound, red irises glittering almost like Christmas lights. His cheekbones looked harsher in the moonlight, jagged like knife blades. The shadows his bangs cast when he tipped his head slightly made it look as if his skin were terribly scarred or burned, perhaps charred. His clothing appeared almost completely black aside from the right side of his body, which was drenched in a rather hesitant touch of moonlight upon the fabric. He looked like a mass of darkness safe for the gentle folds of his clothing where they looked pale and washed out.

“Yami…”

It came in a whispered exhale. But the other boy heard him regardless.

His red eyes sharpened. His mouth drew into a hard line. His jaw clenched, staring at him in open disgust. “Why do you insist upon calling me that?” he hissed after a long moment of silence passed between them. Yugi felt as if the air had abruptly dropped in temperature once more. Some degree of heaviness began to press into the room, pushing upon his shoulders and skin.

He felt weighted, locked and pinned against the bed. He could not even seemingly raise his head from the pillow. The other boy shook his head, glowering even as his expression morphed into something slightly more thoughtful.

“Why have you bothered yourself with it? Tell me, Yugi, do you think a name shall give you the right to claim ownership over me? Do you consider that giving me a name shall grant you control of me? That I will not destroy your little group of friends and your disgusting family?”  
Yami barked the last question, but Yugi failed to flinch. Instead, nearly laughing, he struggled to shrug away the impulse to guffaw. “No,” the smaller teen snorted, clearing his throat immediately after. There was not a single chance he would ever be able to accomplish something of that magnitude. Most days Yugi felt it was by pure luck that he managed to remember how to get dressed in the morning. _That_ was an accomplishment that was feasible to him.

There was no way in any world—no matter _what_ magic one used—that the red-eyed teen would ever bend to another’s will. He would not allow such a thing to happen. Even if he might somehow have found a way to make him fold, he knew that he would be broken tenfold in return.

It was not something that Yugi wished to play with. He didn’t even want to _consider_ it. There were so many reasons he did not want to consider it. And the idea of him lashing out violently was only one small sliver of his alarm.

“I don’t want control over you.”

“Then why?” he spat, voice scornful. “What is the point, Yugi?”

“Because that’s what you are, isn’t it? Some sort of darkness? Completely personified?”

His lips curled back in fury. His eyes flashed like gems and fresh blood. When he leaned forward, his teeth glimmered, painted a brilliant white that nearly caused Yugi to cringe backwards. He could see the harsh line of his gums where the moonlight touched them. They were inky black, almost as if slicked with oil. Yugi felt sick as he glanced at them.

“I am a god,” he snarled softly. Abruptly he pulled away again and settled further onto his haunches. His hands kept him pinned against the mattress, grasping at the comforter on either side of him. “And you have no idea what the fuck you have done, do you?”

“I barely know what I do in school anymore,” Yugi commented in a slightly cheeky tone. He granted him a small smile, eyes kind even in the darkness. Had Yami not been able to see through the shadows, he might have assumed the pull of his mouth was a grimace. Or that his eyes were blank. But his vision was keen and great, with the ability to see through the darkest of shades and draw forth description.

Yami leaned forward slightly, his mind wondering about it all. Was he truly staring at him with such a kind expression? Perhaps he had somehow misread his expression. But the darkness was his home. It nurtured him, pressed upon him, and had been a companion of constant affection. So he did not think it a possibility that he could truly see him wrong. His senses had never misled him before.

Yugi moved to sit up slightly. Yami pressed his weight forward infinitesimally. The pressure made the smaller teen freeze in place. The threat was clear, vicious. Yugi felt sick. Yami didn’t want him any closer. He would rather snap his neck than have him closer, able to breathe the same air as him.

“I certainly don’t know what I do with or to you when I don’t mean to.”

“Don’t mean…”

He fell silent again, breathing in loudly as the smaller boy moved only when the air seemed lighter. The pull on his comforter had lessened, if only slightly. He reached up to run his fingers along the taller boy’s jaw, surprised when he was not met with resistance. But those red eyes had become glazed, staring off into something that Yugi could not fathom. He looked as if he saw things that couldn’t exist for the smaller teen.

But Yami was focused on him, Yugi knew, because he was not one to disregard a threat. And the close proximity made him more vicious and tense, but for whatever reason he had not pulled away.

His skin was soft and cool, like the air around them. But there was a steady warmth beneath it all as well, something which could not quite be put into words but could never be imagined either.

His most beautiful dreams and nightmares and wildest dreams and ideas could never come up with such a strange but condescending perfection. No, Yami was actually right here. He was seated on his bed inches away. He was leaning over him just enough to straddle his hips with his arms. He was watching him now with those same dark eyes that revealed just how furious and unhappy and confused and dangerous he always was.

“I never meant to do anything to you in the first place.”

“Then why am I here?”

“I…I don’t know. I honestly don’t have any idea. I don’t know where you came from but I…I might have a small idea about it.”

He was whispering the words, almost so softly that he couldn’t hear himself. His voice sounded dead in the still air, but somehow alive and pulsing all the same. When he looked at him, those red eyes were cruelly amused. He was full of resentment, curiosity and something like keen intelligence that made his spine tingle.

“Do tell,” the other coaxed in a lazy tone. The words were purred, dripping with contempt as well, and a condescending edge made Yugi fight away a flinch.

“The Puzzle. You came from the Puzzle.”

If he was expecting surprise at his announcement, he was sorely disappointed. His words almost seemed to fall on deaf ears for a moment. But when he smiled slightly at the taller teen, Yami finally gave him the slightest hint of attention. His red eyes narrowed into slits, irises cut drastically by the dark shadows his lashes cast, and his expression turned into one of pure petulance that was definitely growing on Yugi.

“You came from there but I don’t know how or _why_. Just that you kept saying that I brought you here days before we actually met. And I finished the Puzzle just a short amount of time before the incident at the arcade.”

For a moment the other boy merely stared and then he leaned his chin slightly against his fingers. His expression was somewhat questioning and dubious for a long moment as Yugi smiled and closed his eyes in response to the action rather than his words. The soft chill of the other boy’s skin against his fingers was almost enough to make him shiver. The sensation sent small tingles throughout his bones. Yami shifted the smallest degree closer, shifting his face so that the smaller boy’s fingers caught and cupped more of his cheek than they would have otherwise.

His bottom lashes tickled his ring finger and Yugi opened his eyes again. He blinked in surprise, then searched his face. For a moment his mind raced, wondering at the scenario before him. He struggled to catch on to what was happening. It falsely hissed at him that perhaps he was simply imagining it.

But the other was staring at him. His eyes were sharp and narrow. And he realized after a moment why he had moved to let him do this.

He was rewarding him. He was giving him a prize for figuring out something that he would never have told him otherwise. He was giving him a small taste of accomplishment for finding his own answers and not bothering to request them from him. But Yugi also realized with a twisting stomach that Yami was waiting for something more.

“It’s the only thing that makes any sense to me. My grandpa always said that the Puzzle was involved in the deepest of magics, some of which are older and more powerful than life and death.” He watched him closely again. The red eyes drifted towards the window, opening a little wider. It was just enough to allow him to see the way the light seemed to be drawn in through his pupils and pushed outwards like blood. His irises appeared almost to pulse with color, spreading outwards in small waves of bright red, but then became uniform quickly once more. “Shadow Magic and Shadow Games…I don’t really know much about them or anything aside from the stories he’s told me. They aren’t recorded in history anywhere because humans don’t really care about magic, so it’s…I don’t know.”

Yami nodded slightly. The movement nearly forced a purr from Yugi’s throat. The sensation of his skin gliding against his, smooth and unblemished and so completely soft was perfect safe the absence of the body heat that Yugi wished he possessed. “And you are not afraid of that?” he asked slowly. His voice was low, drifting like a stray breeze.

“No, why should I be?”

Slowly those red eyes fell on him again, focused and glowing, the pupils nonexistent now. He could not see even the whites of his eyes any longer, Yugi realized with a start, his own gaze growing wide in shock. He brought in a soft, short breath, and the other boy merely stared.

“You give me reason to question your intelligence when you ask such stupid questions like this.”

“I have a god straddling me on my bed,” Yugi snorted. He smiled a little when the other boy seemed to lean somewhat closer, more fully into his hand at the proper title. He still wondered at this, but he supposed it was not important in all actuality. “I think if there is anything in the world to be scared of, it’s that fact.”

“Which odds make it scary?”

He shifted his fingers, fanning them out a little more. Yami’s jaw jumped beneath his skin, the bones moving so fluidly it felt like water rippling beneath his touch. It was soft and gentle and Yugi nearly shivered at the sensation but instead licked his lips.

“The circumstances. I mean…I brought you here. Without even meaning to. And you’re dangerous and feral. And it’s impossible to even know how you will react to things…” He laughed quietly and shook his head slowly. He smiled at him gently once more. This conversation seemed so strange, so out of place, as if it somehow belonged in a movie or perhaps a beautiful dream. “I can’t control you. I have no power over you. But you can’t kill me even though you want to. I think I’m more scared of the fact that I want you around me constantly than I do about how much you hate me.”

He narrowed his eyes into slits once more, glaring at him now in the darkness. “What a cute, pathetic little statement,” he purred in a sneering tone.

“Yeah, maybe, but I’m your only threat and yet you are right here.”

“I wish I could kill you.”

Yugi couldn’t resist the small grin that came over his face. It was scary and demented and everything wrong. It made him question who he was or if he was losing more of himself than he had originally thought. But he still couldn’t resist the impulse to laugh.

Yami hated him and wished him dead, but he adamantly refused to say “I wish you would die” or “I wish you dead”. He spitefully held such words back. For the sole reason of his own desire to kill him himself. He wanted so much to be the one with the ability to end his life. And he couldn’t, which drove him insane, but it helped to make it somewhat easier to understand him as well.

He hated Yugi but he loathed himself for his inability to find a solution to their problem. Because of this, he was growing infuriated with being unable to escape from the prison of flesh he was bound inside.

“You are becoming too smart for your own good,” he snarled softly. His voice was drenched with hatred and unfiltered disgust, an undercurrent of rage seeping into his tone. His eyes narrowed and glittered as he blinked slowly.

Yugi watched him closely, nearly shivering with delight at the stare he was given. It was strange to think he would be overjoyed with anything the other male decided to grace him with. His presence, his emotions, his eyes scraping over his skin—it was all painful at one point or another. But it was there. The elation was _there_. His insides seemed almost to burst with it for a split second.

“If anyone should be given the right to kill you, it should be me.”

“For something I had no idea would happen?”

His lack of petulance was the sole thing which kept the other from snarling and instead Yami merely scowled at him, hissing, “I do not care if you meant to imprison me inside of this pathetic realm or not. I merely wish to kill you. Is that too much to ask? You yourself thought that should push come to shove, you would rather I choose myself over you. Has that changed?”

“No.”

“So if it meant that you must die?”

“So what, Yami? I don’t fear death. I don’t fear you.”

“Then what _do_ you fear, little one. Do tell me. I am quite curious to hear the answer.”

If he was so foolishly unafraid of him, then what did make his soul quake or his heart quicken? Yami wanted to purr, the idea making his blood heat with anger. His hatred was harsh and bitter in his blood, cutting through his veins. It hurt but it brought laughter to him as well. How was it that Yugi could fear something beyond him?

How was that possible?

He should have feared him above all else.

His lips threatened to curl back.

He would teach him to fear him. He would show him why his instincts were wrong and trust was not something he should bestow in him. Yugi would rue the moment he had made such a declaration. Because Yami would destroy him.

Yugi was silent for a long moment. “I’ll tell you some other time,” he promised quietly, watching him as he peered at him silently and then tilted his head to the side. “When I don’t think I might be hallucinating.”

“Hallucinating?” He said it in a way that almost sounded as if he were savoring the word. His eyes were slits now, hooded with something between laughter and arousal. He purred softly, a little undercurrent of noise so soft Yugi nearly missed it. He sounded almost as if he were sampling the word like wine, enjoying the roll of it along his tongue. “Do I often come to you in hallucinations?”

“I don’t know yet,” Yugi laughed, unable to stop himself as he listened to the crueler note in his tone. Yami looked undeniably pleased with himself. “I’ve never actually had one before.”

“The irony of that statement,” the other drawled in a somewhat furious voice. His lips curled back and his eyes flashed viciously, opening fully as he looked up towards the skylight.

“Have you ever had one, Yami?”

For a split second he looked ready to snap at him that that name was not his. But then he fell silent, a buried thought rising to the surface. There was a small tremor of pain which came through his chest, sharp and keen and vicious beyond what he had originally imagined. The searing sensation fell away in forks of fire, forcing itself through his organs and bones in splinters.

It constricted his lungs in bursts and left him breathless for a moment. Then it began to press away, as if his body were filtering beyond the phantom pain. His features twisted, becoming distant as they rearranged themselves into a blankness which made Yugi stiffen. He was silent for a long minute and Yugi was about to say that he did not have to tell him. In fact, the smaller teen was so shaken by his faraway expression and the brief pain which lanced through him, that he wanted nothing more than to say he didn’t want to know anymore.

But then Yami tilted his head the slightest fraction. And his red eyes flickered away for a split second. “When I was first brought here,” he said slowly, in a cold, stiff voice that bordered a soft snarl. “I thought I was dying. Maybe that immortality had been a mere lie and I was being cut to size. By whom, I was not sure. And then I realized that it was you.”

“Oh _yes_ , because you just sound _so apologetic_ ,” Yami sneered, baring his teeth for a moment. He turned his head towards the clock for a moment, taking in the time and narrowing his eyes into thin slits. “You pathetic little imbecile.”

Yugi smiled a little and shook his head. His grin was widening as the seconds passed and Yami eyed it disdainfully. “I _am_ sorry that it happened like that. I didn’t say I apologized that you’re _here_ ,” he admitted.

“Oh, and why is that?” Yami spat, eyes burning into his. “Because you think you possess ownership of me now?”

“No. I don’t want ownership of you. That would be like trying to tame a wolf. It doesn’t happen,” Yugi laughed softly, shaking his head again. His skin crawled faintly as he considered the other boy. His red eyes had grown seemingly feverish with the glow they emitted and he thought it was more suggestive of suppressing a need to lunge forward than mere anger. The more he spoke, the fiercer his eyes began to look he thought maybe he would have torn his throat out in an instant if he’d only gotten the chance. Yugi drew in a deep breath, then exhaled, steeling his somewhat shaky nerves. “I like having you around, though, Yami. It’s…like having someone there where there wasn’t anyone before. I don’t feel so alone most of the time.”

“ _Touching_ ,” Yami drawled dryly, rolling his eyes. He arched his back in a restrained stretch. It was a full-bodied movement, one of weary disdain. His fingers flexed, lifting from the comforter only slightly before curling back. His legs shifted and the one hanging from the side of the bed kicked lightly. He rolled his shoulders and settled comfortably once more. Not an inch of movement was given between the two of them, and Yugi was struck with another realization.

Yami had chosen this position so that he could pin him forcefully with barely any effort on his own behalf. If Yugi were to make a movement, had he leaned forward even slightly, the other boy could lean forward and throw him back again. All he would have to do was lean a little further and move his legs. Yugi would be pinned beneath him, legs beneath Yami’s thighs, his hands encircling either his wrists or his shoulder.

He’d only be able to shift his balance or squirm ineffectively. He’d be stuck under the other teen and completely unable to move. The thought was terrifying and yet somehow invigorating. The boy could rip him to pieces if he wanted to.

“But that does not mean shit to me. I am not here for you. I am not to be your friend. I will never assume to be your companion either. If you were wise, you would consider me to be your biggest threat,” Yami growled, watching him with cold eyes. His lips drew back over his teeth once more and the look on his face was predatory and dark. “And if push were ever to come to shove, if I should truly need to, I will slit your throat without a second thought.”

“And kill yourself with me?”

“If it would mean getting out of this prison of flesh and bone I have been bound within, yes. I have no fear of death.”

“And yet, you fear me. Possibly the weakest person in the world and you fear me.”

The other teen stared at him as if he were searching for the words to say in response. He seemed to have several retorts on his tongue, resting there and building, but he abruptly turned away again. A shake of his head was given, his eyes narrowed and dark. Yugi watched him curiously, having expected something—anything, really—and found himself disappointed. He had not objected. He was not arguing. His teeth were not bared. Yugi almost wondered if he was perhaps sick.

He was not even attempting to defend himself. His stomach twisted uncomfortably. Maybe he did not think it was worth it, but his own ignorance of the topic left him abruptly cold and empty.

What _had_ Yugi put him through exactly?

What had he _done_ when he’d brought him here?

Was Yami _truly_ okay?

Sure, he seemed powerful enough. But there was something incredibly… _weak_ in him too. Yugi sensed it just as well as he did. And he knew it was something that Yami was absolutely attuned to and defensive over. But Yugi wished he knew what it was as well. He truly wished that he had any idea of what it was that plagued him. If he could find out what it was, perhaps he could help him more…

He wished to the gods that he knew some kind of answer for it…

Yami tilted his head towards him and stared for a moment. His expression was one of slight bewilderment, perhaps mild irritation. Yugi wondered if he could see into his head again, if he was listening to his thoughts. Was it so terrible? Yugi felt his heart pounding in his chest painfully for a moment.

But the red-eyed teen’s thoughts were far from within Yugi’s own.

His own was on multiple subjects, far beyond that of which lingered in Yugi’s head. His own was caught on his ability of which he’d adapted quickly and efficiently to the name that now bound him so solely to the smaller boy. It was sickening to him, hideous and vicious. But it did nothing to quell his rage. He was starving, desperate, to spill blood, furious enough that he wished to sink his teeth into his throat.

There was something constant, agonizing and burning, beneath his skin each time the name was mentioned. No matter the context of the name in question, he was still forced to respond in some way. It was as easy as blood heating in his veins or as harsh as his entire body locking in place. He felt, often, as if his body were being lit from the inside, bursting through him forcefully.

He wanted nothing more than to snarl and bare his teeth, to rip through Yugi’s throat and bathe in his blood. The very idea of a name being attached to him to him was disgusting and loathing. He was naïve and small and so weak that it was pitiful. A person such as Ushio could tear him to pieces if he was found alone and vulnerable. It was only his friends that kept such things from happening.

Yami truthfully did not think the situation could be anymore insulting than if he had been summoned by a mere baby. And, it did not help him in the slightest, that Yugi had been eight when he had first begun on the Puzzle…

Nor did the fact that he looked so small and pitifully tiny—and so _absolutely pathetic_ beneath him now. Yami flared with hatred. His entire body was caught with the emotion, burning and festering beneath his skin.

He looked so childish and small, and he allowed the world to happen around him without consideration. He was more invested in things that did not matter nearly as much to others. He had shut himself out without truly realizing, and Yami wondered now if his small circle of friends even noticed as he had.

He himself was not inclined towards this world by any means. But it should have been something that the boy was, right? He had been born on its plane and he’d experienced his entire life there. How could he not be more inclined towards it? Towards trying to protect it?

_Especially from him_.

Yet Yugi showed no inclination. He showed no hint of desire to attempt keeping even his friends from him. Stepping between him and Ushio had been nothing more than the instinct to shy away from bloodshed. Yami knew this. It was a selfish notion rather than selfless, as it should have been.

Yugi was afraid of it.

He was afraid of pain or death.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” he finally spat furiously. He bristled uncomfortably as his skin began to crawl over his muscles. He glowered at the other boy, baring his teeth, and hissed quietly as Yugi smiled softly in amusement. Yami wanted to lash out; did Yugi truly believe that his anger was nothing more than a joke?

“Because you’re here—and now I don’t have to worry about if you’re dead somewhere or something.”

Yami stayed silent for a long moment, his eyes narrowing further. The gleam of them was hideous and sharp against his mature features. His long lashes were hooded and dark, sharp like blackened glaciers. He leaned forward slightly, his fingers touching Yugi’s sides before closing around his flanks. His nails tugged at his shirt, clawing through his shirt to scratch at his flesh.

The smaller boy wriggled, flinching at the harsh strokes. He writhed, then hissed in discomfort, blue-violet eyes wide in shock.

“The only one who can kill me, is _you_ ,” Yami growled low in his throat, baring his teeth at him. His face twisted into a sneer and his head tilted slightly to the side. His eyes burned into his, furious and penetrating. “Just as it is _I_ who will end _your_ life when I am given the opportunity, little Yugi.”

“Yeah, well, until you figure out how to do that without destroying yourself in the process, I think I might be pretty safe,” he commented casually. The sneer on the other boy’s face was lifted only slightly as his eyes found the window, though a hideous snarl still crept forth from somewhere deep in his throat. The red eyes flashed and glowed vibrantly, reminding him once more of hellfire and Christmas lights, a wide contradiction but somehow incredibly fitting. “You will protect me, if only for your own benefit, right?”

“Is there ever any other reason to do so?”

“No.”

“As long as you have not become deluded into thinking that I give a shit about you, I think we are at least fine as far as such matters are concerned.” He paused, his wry tone drifting into silence as he considered him. Yugi was watching him with a strangely calm, oddly excited expression which made his skin burn.

A flicker of light made his head turn. His eyes immediately caught the source of it. His skin prickled upon seeing it and his blood felt hot and thick in his veins. The hatred festered there, growing in rapid bursts and waves before it dissipated abruptly. Tired to the point of exhaustion, the red-eyed deity narrowed his gaze and tilted his head once more.

The Puzzle glinted once more, as if projecting the moonlight forward in a burst. It made his head spin, his eyes burning with the touch of it. A small pulse of energy touched his skin and he nearly bore his teeth with hatred.

“Where did the Puzzle bring you from?”

The question made the other teen stiffen for a moment. His eyes flickered and danced and his pupils became enlarged, darkening as if they might swallow the whole room. For a moment Yami merely stared at the nightstand, at the light which bounced from the Puzzle. An electrical charge brushed against his skin, magic against magic, and it made his breathing quicken for a brief moment.

Then his red eyes shot abruptly to Yugi once more. He was watching it from the corner of his eye, the smaller teen noted, and his stomach twisted furiously.

The simple artifact was a deep golden metal, with enough magic to split this world and the next in half. It could destroy them both from the inside out with the slightest touch of loose control.

It glinted, sharp lines against fragmented pale moonlight where there was none to truly touch its surface. And it absorbed the silver-white gleams, as if the night were swallowing the day. The eye in the center seemed to glare at him plainly as if in warning. When he looked more fully at it, it glinted as if the moonlight had passed upon it, the gleam hitting his own.

He bared his teeth at that, snarling softly in sound defiance. Then his attention snapped back towards the carpet, a shiver racing down his back.

“I do not know,” the deity spat quietly, finally giving him even the slightest of a response. “The darkness, I suppose.”

Yugi blinked and frowned in confusion before glancing at the Puzzle as well. His hand moved down to cup the other’s jugular and he could feel his pulse in slow, steady beats that made him feel sick to his stomach. They were far too sluggish for the small teen to feel reassured upon detecting it.

But they were also so steady that it was stunning to him.

There was no question of whether his heart was truly working. It did not fumble, did not strain, did not dance or skip. It merely moved in a beat that was far below the normal rate of a human, utterly perfect in its own terrible way.

He blinked after a moment, turning to the Puzzle as well. Yugi supposed it made sense. After all, in the mirror, his entire body had appeared to be made of shadows, as if he were but a mass of twisting, screaming darkness.

And, if he had truly been pulled from the darkness by the Puzzle, then it would make sense that he would look like that in the mirror, right? But then…how was a god pulled unwillingly from another world?

How were they bound to anything by magic that would have been inferior to their own? He didn’t understand how that was possible. And what kind of darkness possessed such power as to do that?

When Yami said he was brought from the darkness, did he mean the Shadow Realm? His grandpa had always told him stories about it, so it would make sense if Yami had been somehow touched by it. But, was it possible that Yami had meant something else entirely?

“Here…stay with me the night.”

“What?”

Yugi turned back and nodded with a small smile. He gestured innocently towards the spot beside him and searched the other’s red eyes. He wanted to make himself appear as friendly as possible but it was hard to grasp at the concept with the way Yami stared at him.

He looked as if the words that had come from his mouth were foreign. He stared at him as if the words were beyond his understanding and comprehension was slow to come to him. The slightest concept of knowledge seemed to evade him altogether. Or perhaps Yami understood perfectly what he was saying, and did not think that he had the _gall_ to truly say it.

He probably did not take the invitation seriously by any means.

“Stay here tonight.”

The red-eyed boy scoffed softly but looked at the pillow for a moment. Yugi smiled slightly, because Yami truly seemed to be staring at it as if he were imagining it, soft and warm, beneath his head as it had before. The smaller teen blinked, his stomach twisting. Had Yami ever experienced one before the moment he had convinced him to spend the night before? Or was it a new experience entirely? In his own world—or the darkness, if that was really where he came from—did such luxuries not exist?

“You can leave again in the morning if you want,” Yugi offered, licking his lips. His mind was racing with the idea that Yami might never have known the touch of something so beautiful and soft and simple. “I just…I haven’t slept in a while and I don’t think you have either, considering the way we seem to be so tied together like this. If _I_ ’m not sleeping well, then I don’t suppose _you_ are either.”

The emphasis was what got under Yami’s skin. And Yugi knew it the moment they looked at each other. Emphasizing such words made the other boy pay attention more keenly. It was dark and hideous, his reaction to such a thing, but he understood it. Yugi knew that the link between them was perhaps the sorest spot possible to broach.

Yami opened his mouth, a swift and furious rebuttal springing on his tongue. But then he blinked, conceding easily, when Yugi reached up to push him onto his side with his free hand. It was slight and soft, the touch more reassuring than anything. His fingers cupped his ribs softly, then pressed a bit more.

The surprise which sparked between them was enough to make him want to snicker but he fell silent. He was not truly inclined to fight with him, let alone argue against him, as a new wave of exhaustion brushed against his insides. His eyelids felt heavy and his eyes watery from his forgetfulness to blink.

The smaller teen smiled in soft amusement and ignored some of the exhaustion which seemed to hit him more violently now due to Yami’s presence beside him. He went about taking his shoes off, kicking them away to the floor. Yugi pulled on the very edge of the blanket to draw it back in invitation.

The red-eyed teen shot him a furious look. It appeared as if he might want to castrate him if he did not stop.

But he finally moved a moment later. He dragged himself up on his hands and knees and allowed Yugi to pull the blanket back completely. Yami blinked tiredly, leaning forward, and braced himself as he plopped down against the mattress firmly. He was asleep when his head hit the pillow and Yugi snorted a laugh as he covered them both and snuggled into the fluffy cotton.

He woke up hours later to the sound of the softest, slowest heartbeat and such quiet breathing that he had to strain his ears to catch it. The sunlight coming through the window was too strong but it held a quality to it that made it just weak enough to be manageable against the floor.

He thanked the gods that it was winter rather than summer, as it would have been extremely and violently bright. He squinted and peered through his lashes, allowing his eyes to adjust even as his mind remained firmly drowned within his former sleep.

The dreams lingered crisply in his mind for a few moments before becoming disoriented and fragmented. But they kept a blissful grasp upon his mind, which helped to make him fight off a smile. His cheek was warm and comfortable as it rested against the other’s chest.

The heartbeat there was strong in his ear beneath the fog of grogginess that came with it. Yugi smiled a little and lifted his head just enough to take in the other boy’s face. His more mature features were bathed in a golden-bronze tone and gave him a more dangerous appeal even with his body so clearly relaxed in his sleep.

He looked a cross between an innocent child—only his eyes closed could ever give him such a soft appearance—and a dangerous, feral animal. His body was still completely relaxed, almost entirely statuesque but for his soft breathing. But there was strength still rolling off him, defiant and powerful, and it gave him a darker appeal that made him far more alarming than any natural predator.

His face was mashed unattractively against the pillow, almost as if he had somehow managed to press himself further into the soft material. Yugi blinked and then looked them both over slowly. He realized that they must have gotten themselves tangled together sometime in the middle of the night.

His eyes flickered back towards the other boy’s face. And he swore he saw Yami’s lip twist with the threat of curling upwards in a hideous snarl. But it was obvious that he was still fast asleep, steadily resting away his worries. He was sure otherwise the other boy would have snarled at him to get off by now.

He moved to untangle where his arm was trapped under the other’s half-turned body. He did not want to wake him as he attempted to weasel his hand out from beneath Yami’s back. His bones, he realized after a moment, were far too pronounced under his skin. The knobs of his spine seemed to dig into his fingers when he tried to move away slowly in an effort to keep him from waking. He moved his free hand to brace against the headboard, once again surprised by the way the other teen seemed to inexplicably weigh so much. He pressed his palm into the wood firmly and bit his tongue until he felt it might split in half in his mouth. He tugged hard and his hand finally sleep free of his darker counterpart’s weight.

Yami still did not stir. Yugi shivered, wondering if maybe his idea he had gotten to make him stay through the night was far more important for both of them than he had initially considered. It was becoming rather obvious that he needed the other teen around him to feel okay.

He was still fearful of the spikes of his emotions, the way they seemed to so effortlessly drag him down the potential to drown him. But it was also very clear that Yami would fight him tooth and nail, but he knew the limitations of being apart. They always became rejuvenated when they were together, counteracting it completely.

It was not a guess on his behalf to know that the other male perhaps knew that better than he did himself. But he also realized Yami was not simply _fearful_ of him. He was hateful and _terrified_. He seemed to know better than Yugi where the power lay between them. The thought was horrifying to the small teen, but it was also clear in Yami’s regards towards him.

And the fact that Yami came to him at all was a clear display of his desperation. He knew how badly the deity truly wished to avoid it all. It seemed that sleeping together in the same space, sharing the same air and pillow, the same bed, seemed to make an especially strong truth to be considered.

He pulled back just enough to take in the way that their legs were knotted together. A lopsided grin crept across Yugi’s face at the sight. He tried to sort his left leg away from where it was trapped beneath Yami’s slender hip. The bone was sharper than he had initially expected. It was far closer to the skin than he’d initially assumed. And it was somehow jagged where it should have been smooth.

Yugi swallowed hard, frozen in place by the harsh touch. The bone dug gently into his knee when he tried to pull away again. Maybe if he could convince the other boy to stick around more often, then they could influence each other further. Maybe it would take away some of the physical and psychological strain that seemed to come with the situation.

Perhaps then Yami would not be so thin. Then Yugi might not constantly feel as if he were the loneliest person in the world. Maybe he could even get used to the way his emotions seemed to reach peaks of unimaginable heights and then abruptly crash. Or perhaps Yami might even gain body heat and no longer feel like he was the very embodiment of winter.

Yugi braced his hands against the headboard to keep himself balanced as he slowly dragged his leg out. Pain shot through the limb but he ignored it enough to keep going, shaking his head slightly. He drew in a breath, smiling only faintly, and looked the other boy over.

His last thought was amazing to him, far more than it was amusing. He imagined the fight it would take to bring Yami around and it was ridiculous how funny he found the idea. Yami would fight him tooth and nail and deny any fact he threw at him. His unapologetic nature and lack of tact made it even funnier to consider.

Yugi was stiff, knee aching, as he pulled it more firmly beneath him. He glanced at Yami once more and a wide grin split across his face. Yami was still passed out beside him, breathing even and quiet. His other leg was manageable without much time or effort or even any real thought. He slipped it out from where it had been twisted around Yami’s left leg and balanced himself back on his knees with a glance at the clock.

It was halfway through two in the afternoon.

Yugi felt his eyebrows shoot up before he considered it. Nervously, he bit his lip and reconsidered Yami beside him. He looked so peaceful and the rest could only be doing him well. He didn’t want to wake him, but if he let the day pass him by doing nothing, he was unsure how he might regret it later.

But…would Yami consider it as abandonment if he woke without him there? He knew that in his place, with so many things tied to a second person, his position taken into account, that he definitely would. The person who he’d spent the night with vanishing on him in that way would have made Yugi uncomfortable. He’d probably feel stupid, especially considering how naturally they had found themselves tangled together throughout the night.

He drew in a deep breath, then exhaled through weak lungs. How was he meant to wake him? Would he respond to his name? It was still so new and he didn’t know if Yami truly cared for it that much…

“Yami, hey, wake up.”

He was muttering, so he cleared his throat and tried again. When Yami failed to respond the second time, Yugi reached out and attempted to shake his shoulder. He waited a long moment, feeling slightly shaken when the deity once again seemed oblivious to his attempts.

Yugi shook his shoulder a little. A small, tight frown formed on his lips as he tried a third time. Was he sick? If he had not heard his heartbeat and noticed his breathing earlier, he might have assumed he was dead. He was so _still_ and his breathing was almost undetectable. Yugi was almost tempted to put his hand near his nose and see if he was truly exhaling any longer.

But, he merely watched his chest rise and fall in those slow, even paces and that made him relax more than anything else he could manage. Now, Yugi rolled his eyes, reached to turn his face towards him more pointedly. And, only a second after he’d done it, did he realize his mistake.

Yami’s hand was half-buried beneath the pillow and only the bottom of his palm was visible. His fingers had just barely brushed the taller boy’s wrist. The realization had just registered in his head. Alarms went off a second too late. Electricity shot through his entire nervous system. Heat flared through his body and burned his veins.

Yugi yelped as the fist hit his jaw. He was sent tumbling over the side of the bed. He landed in a heap on the floor. He hissed and groaned. His stomach flipped and ached. He rubbed his cheek and jaw. His skin burned from the carpet. Then he flexed his mouth and glanced up.

Yami was staring at him groggily. But his eyes were somehow still keen. And his face was twisted into a sneer. His teeth were bared. His eyes were narrow. He blinked as if at first he did not recognize him.

Then he glowered, expression instantly clearing.

“What the fuck do you think you were doing?” he spat in a chilled, icy ton. His eyes narrowed further. A gleam of fiery distaste filled them. Yugi swallowed hard. He was completely alert. He was aware of him now, more than ever. And he was _livid_. He could feel the rage deep beneath his own skin. His jaw was set and his lips pulled back. The snarl was a low, rattling hiss of a noise, caressing his ears and burrowing beneath his skin.

In the state of his anger, Yami could have easily attacked him. Yet, somehow the other boy remained seated there. Yugi had a small, insidious fear that Yami would have killed anyone else in his position. His restraint now was terrifying.

“I was just trying to wake you,” Yugi replied in a matter-of-fact tone. He shook his head and rubbed at his jaw. The skin was raw from the collision with the carpet, but he did not think it had truly burned him. Yami scowled at him some more. The growling lowered a notch, dancing in his eardrums. Yugi watched him for a moment, then shrugged slightly.

That was all he had been trying to do. Whether Yami accepted that or not was another thing altogether. He doubted he ever would, but it was the only truth he had to offer him. He wasn’t about to feel bad for the deity’s disbelief towards his explanation.

“Seriously, Yami, what the hell is it with you and your wrists?”

Yami’s eyes dropped to his wrists slowly, widening slightly. A forlorn shadow seemed to creep through his irises, his expression somewhat lost. The forked lines of blue and purple which showed back at him made the deity’s lungs feel tighter than ever. He was frozen for what felt like an eternity before his eyes narrowed. Then he snarled angrily and turned back to him.

“That is truly none of your fucking business, now is it?”

Yugi blinked, eyes becoming impossibly wide as he listened to the words come from behind gritted teeth. Then he sighed softly and shook his head, part of him disappointed and the other vaguely hurt. “Okay, okay, keep that one to yourself,” he offered, though he rolled his eyes as he climbed to his feet again. He felt as if he were granting him a sense of permission he had no right to. And it was amusing to him, because he knew damn well that no one would ever be able to control Yami in any sense of the word. The fact was Yami would hide anything and everything from him if he felt the need. “Nice right hook by the way. I thought maybe you had broken my jaw for a second there.”

He turned to Yami with a wide grin that was playful and warm. But the moment their eyes locked, he felt cold and almost empty. The emotion drained away and left him feeling hollow, Yami watching him in response. His stare was blank and calculated, his expression one of something akin boredom. Somehow he seemed to encompass both wariness and nonchalance all at once.

Then he tilted his head. His mouth fell into a troubled line, as if he were confused by Yugi’s former expression. Then, when he spoke, Yugi felt his entire face grow hot.

“I normally kill for far less than that,” Yami murmured in an easy tone. He sat up more fully, then leaned forward in a feline-like arch of his spine. His jaws flexed in a yawn and Yugi thought of gaping holes and the blackened mouths of mountainous caverns. When his lips smacked together again soundly, Yugi jumped briefly and blushed harder, but Yami merely studied him with cool curiosity. “Let us say that someone were to do what you have just done. I would punch them. Then, while they are still dazed, I could easily—”

“No, no, _no_. _Stop that_! It’s _way_ too early to hear any grotesque stories about you killing someone,” Yugi protested in an instant, cheeks still flushed. He held his hands up and shook his head.

“Well then…aren’t you just a boring little shit.”

Yugi couldn’t help but grin at the statement, more focused on the petulance with which it was laced. He stretched his arms out above his head and listened as his backbone popped loudly. The noise caused Yami to tilt his head once more, eyes innocent in their surprise as they widened and blinked at him in question. “Here, come on, let’s go get some food!” the smaller teen announced, a burst of elation surging through him as his stomach growled loudly. “I can make awesome pancakes! Yum.”

Now Yami stared at him. The innocent surprise had been wiped from his face as if it had never existed in the first place. His head was straight on his shoulders again, the tilt long gone. His eyes were disapproving and less than interested. When Yugi blinked at him, his expression grew further bored, then began to harbor a certain blankness that made the smaller teen’s heart pound.

For the smallest of seconds Yugi was almost affronted by his lack of enthusiasm. He almost sniped at him that he was an absolute idiot to not want his pancakes—he wasn’t Joey; he could cook. He almost said he would never share his bed with him again if he didn’t like the breakfast food.

But a cold nip dug its way into his marrow. He was not sure of its existence, where it came from—himself or the other boy—and its true purpose was lost to him. But with it came the smallest budding realization. His stomach knotted with nerves now, but growled again fiercely.

He blinked at the other boy, swallowing hard.

“They’re…” How did one explain the concept of pancake? And, more importantly, how would he explain it to Yami’s liking? He could not see the deity being simply mollified by the idea of cooked batter and butter and syrup put on a plate. And he couldn’t think of much more elegant words to provide the description he wished he could give him. It was too early and he was getting hungrier by the second. “You know what? Never mind. I don’t know how to explain them. I’ll just make them and then you can have some.”

His mouth opened in response. But just the look in his eyes told Yugi of cynicism and disgust. But then Yami closed his eyes and shook his head long and slow. When he opened them again, his gaze was on the window as if possessed, eyes glinting like ice where the sun touched them. They were turned a strange wine color and his stomach twisted at the surprising unity of the shade. Normally they were specked and colored a million different shades of red.

Yugi frowned and looked him over, nibbling his lip unhappily as he recognized something he had overlooked only moments before.

Yami was brutally uncomfortable. The fact that they were both now wide awake made it intensely obvious that he did not want to be there any longer. But the way he sat made him appear almost meek and disturbingly so. He hated it almost as much as he had when he’d threatened to kill without reason.

He had never wanted to make him feel smaller than he actually was, nor so uncomfortable that he was staring out the window almost wistfully. What held him there Yugi was unsure of, but he knew that it was hardly something he wanted if he was so miserable.

Where was the in between, the middle ground, that small strip of land between them where he could actually reach him without startling him into baring his teeth and lashing out? Did it actually hold a place in existence? Or had he simply dreamed up such a thing in an effort to make himself feel better? If it was an actuality, then how would he find his way there? And how would he lead Yami there?

He felt, stupidly so, that Yami might have the idea of it already in his head. But he was also probably too alarmed and frightened to broach it. And then, Yugi wondered, as well, that Yami might never find it on his own. It occurred to him that Yami would not _search_ for it. For a moment he, like Yugi, was simply blind and there was no way of approaching it.

However, unlike him, he might never make the effort any way. It was most likely not a part of his plans. He wanted to survive, but not in a fashion that required more dependence upon Yugi than necessary. And he would draw the lines for himself as to where it was necessary and where it was overstepping.

And Yugi had a feeling his judgment was skewed by his anger, his hatred which lingered so powerfully beneath the surface.

“I am not hungry.”

The words made Yugi blink in confusion. Hungry? His stomach growled. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Yes, you are, Yami. I can feel it even if your stomach isn’t growling.”

Yami blinked only once. Then he tipped his head to the side. His eyes flashed, staring out the window. Then they abruptly flickered and his attention was keen as it bore into Yugi once more. The smaller teen was frozen in place, stunned by the expression the other wore. The look on Yami’s face could have put the devil to shame, his eyes gleaming and flashing as his lips twisted into a smirk cruel enough to make him flinch.

“That is my hunger for you,” his voice hissed out in a tone that was deep and bottomless, as vast as the shadow he had cast months before. “Body, mind and soul. You have no _idea_ what you are even doing here, do you, Yugi?”

Yugi stared at him for a long moment. Then he shrugged lightly, trying his hardest not to give him any more room to see how terribly uncomfortable he was quickly becoming. Yami didn’t need to see his weakness, just as he didn’t want to witness his. “You say that but you’ve always looked at me like I’m repulsive.”

“Because you are! You a slimy little worm that has found its way into becoming my core existence,” Yami spat. His eyes were wild as he spun to face him completely. His glare was so fierce as to make his gaze more black than red. The veins were pronounced and dark in the whites of his eyes and Yugi felt as if his heart were shaking in his chest. He wished he would yell, because his quieter tone made his body quake. Yami pulled his lips back further and the snarl which left his lungs forced his saliva to foam and bubble in the corners of his mouth. “You brought me here, you little bastard. You have bound me to you by name. You have stopped me from spilling blood _a second time_ and now you dare to _imply_ that _I_ must survive off of your _disgusting food_!”

Yugi was shaking finely, but his voice was etched with frustration.

“I know you do, because that’s what I survive off of. And look at what body you happen to be in, Yami! You’re _human_! What the hell _else_ would you eat?”

Yami tilted his head towards him further. His eyes were glacial, peering at him in a way that made it seem as if he might see through him. His breathing came in a ragged hiss, labored with the effort of his restraints. There was a cold pity in his eyes and Yugi felt the urge to cringe at the sight of it, shaken by the way it bore through him. He looked as if he thought the smaller teen were one of the _stupidest_ creatures he had ever had the pleasure to look upon.

“You,” he hissed, the tone of his voice dripping of sin and hateful laughter. “Your energy when it is at its peak. Do you not understand yet?”

f Yugi blinked, then froze in place. He was dazed, the statement settling more firmly in his head only minutes later. He felt dizzy, confused, and his breath came in a pant at first before evening out when a firm shake of his head. “What the hell _are_ you? An incubus?” he managed to breathe out, shaking his head again in confusion. Something childish and almost wondrous entered his eyes. “You need _sexual_ energy?”

His arrogance burned him.

His incomprehensive tortured him.

His naivety cut him.

His inability to use his _proper title_ —

Yami snapped his jaws like a dog. Yugi flinched back and gaped at him with wide eyes. Yami was shaking, harsh tremors which made his entire body strain. His gaze was burning, raw and furious, the black of his pupils all-consuming. His veins were enlarged now, traced with the vantablack around the edges. He breathed harshly, ragged inhales which turned into snarls as they were spat into the air between them.

The columns of his neck corded. He flexed his fingers and they sank into his comforter. Embittered, hateful, infuriated, Yami snapped his teeth again. “A god. I am a _god_ ,” he spat from between his teeth. He stared at him with eyes that seemed to sear through him. Something dark and hideous and terrible lurched at the back of Yugi’s mind. It was powerful, tugging at him, a strong grip which threatened to sweep him off his feet. Then Yami trembled again, snapped his jaws, and turned his head away.

The hold was immediately gone. Yugi stood on shaky legs. His breathing was ragged. He couldn’t remember how to catch his breath. Yami stared at the covers and his bodily tremors began to slowly subside. He breathed out long and hard and finally seemed to regain some composure.

He settled back more firmly into the mattress. One hand flexed to release the material beneath it. Then it clenched again. Yugi could see the cords of his muscles straining under the pressure of such a task. He was so angry that he couldn’t unclench his jaws. The ferocity was so silently displayed that the smaller boy was all the more shaken by the sight of it.

Then he breathed out through his nose and his fingers relaxed. Yami shook his head out almost as if he were a dog. A rippled ran through his body. Then he settled again and his eyes flickered towards the wall and back again. The tension eased from his body, he almost looked like a regular teenager. With his eyes hooded and away from him, the color was indefinable. And his hair just looked a mess from sleep.

The way the comforter fell across his hips made him look almost peaceful and human, as if such simplicity might scrape his complication away. When his eyes opened more, the pupils had receded and his veins were almost nonexistent, the red of his irises far more pronounced. His lips twitched faintly now, tugging into a mocking smirk.

_He probably cherished the way I looked so pathetic_ , Yugi thought with a slightly bitter tone. But how else was he meant to react? He knew that Yami had not consciously struck out with his magic, but he’d felt it. That tugging in the back of his mind—that wasn’t natural. And he knew the icy fingers with which he’d been touched in that moment.

“No, I am not an incubus. Your little demon lore is nothing to me. I require your energy for the sole purpose of this body being completely. As it is still being created, it has yet to become truly solid. If my existence were to be a fact, my reflection would not be what it is. No, you brought me here, you bound me to you, you gave me form and life and all of the things for which I never _wished_. Your only true payment to me, Yugi, is the fact that I am in need of your energy when you are euphoric and drowning beneath your own emotions, when we bleed into each other so completely that you allow me to take from you. Eventually, when this body is solid and no longer suffers from such ridiculous restraints as it does now, maybe then I will find my peace and be able to kill you without causing myself any harm.”

Yugi felt his mouth grow dry as he swallowed hard and allowed the waves of nausea to crash through him for a long moment. His behavior made a lot more sense now that he knew this. It explained the touching, why he had been so keen about doing so. It had explained why he had bothered to kiss him in the first place.

If that was how he got his energy just in order to survive, then it was no wonder he had no respect of boundaries and would right any he tried to lay down between them. And, if he was truly a god, he did not have reason to know them nor care for their introduction. He needed simply to know how it was he would get his strength back so that he could leave this world and perhaps find his way back to his.

By doing that, he did not have to worry about anything getting Yugi’s sexual energy, absorbing it—if that was how he did it—and then recovering fully so that he could leave.

He swallowed hard again, then tilted his head to the side as he studied him. The words were tossed about in his head, echoing dangerously, and he shook his head slowly. “That’s not true,” he finally muttered. Yami did not face him, but his lips did quirk slightly downwards in acknowledgment of his words. He tilted his head slightly and his eyes seemed to flicker though he did not look at him fully.

“And how should you know?”

“I don’t. But I’m willing to bet that it isn’t true.”

“Well, is that not a beautiful gamble you wish to make, little game?” the other drawled lazily, appearing bored with the conversation now. “Want to take it up with your grandfather how dangerous _gambling truly is_ , Yugi?”

“What?” Yugi asked in alarm, stiffening in shock at the statement. He had already threatened him once before. He’d claimed that he would kill his entire family if he did not explain to him why his grandfather’s illness hurt him. He wasn’t going to turn back around and attack him now…was he?

Finally, Yami turned his head. The expression on his face was a sneer of mocking laughter. Yugi felt his heart skip beats.

“He’s _home_.”

The smaller teen opened his mouth. The air was hot and he could feel the ionized state it had fallen into. His skin prickled. His mouth dried further. He lunged forward. Yami laughed loudly, a sharp noise that bounced off the walls endlessly.

He was gone before Yugi made it a millimeter into the action. He hit the bed with a grunt at the force of the impact. Then he sighed, frowning, and shivered. His fingers moved over the spot Yami had been seated and his stomach knotted painfully.

There was a stunning lack of body heat there altogether.

The thought made him feel cold and small. Yugi drew his hands back to himself, then listened closely. The door separating the house from the game shop beneath opened. His body stiffened, then threw himself to his feet again. His eyes were wide as he moved to pad out to the doorway and find him standing there.

Yami hadn’t lied.


	13. Chapter XIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: Cursing should be relatively mild but sometimes grows a little more at times, Season 0 Yami...and he's a little more unhinged than usual, so keep that in mind.  
> Note: There are mentions of blood, some graphic images of death, sensual moments and feelings, touches of violence/abuse  
> Update Schedule: I'm going to try for biweekly updates on here and edits on ff since it's already posted there.  
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer’s block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it is appreciated. Please and thank you.  
> SO SORRY! Work is insane, I've got other projects I'm working on, and the updates dragged along until I got so focused on STB that I couldn't find time to sit and edit this around typing up chapters. I never FORGOT to do it, I just got so caught up in werewolves and research and work that it was impossible to keep up with the schedule for the updates for this story. Because of that, I'm changing the update schedule to biweekly so it gives me more time. I can't believe I didn't get around to it until now! SO SORRY!

Chapter XIII

"You know, Yami, shoving your tongue down my throat and jerking me off is  _not_ the way to go," Yugi stated casually as he walked into the room and dumped his bag to the floor. He closed the door, then flipped the lock behind him.

His grandpa would never walk in on him without knocking. But his mom seemed to have a habit of doing just that. She seemed to have some strange need to check on him more often than he thought was actually necessary.

His skin felt hot as he looked at Yami and then quickly away. Red spread from his neck up to his cheeks and he nearly groaned in embarrassment. Ever since that one day she had walked in on him watching a porn tape a little too loudly, she had been cautious about his door being shut and locked. More often than not, when she would walk into his room, he would remember the awkward scream that had left her mouth and the way her eyes had been thrice their regular size.

She'd grilled him for three hours after that, until finally he had given up and admitted that it had been Joey to hand it to him in the first place. Ever since then she had been sure to check on him constantly. Apparently she saw it all as disgusting, to a point which she had been unable to look him in the eye for a solid week. He knew her reasoning for it, however, that she only saw it as gross because she'd wanted him to value sex, to have it only with someone he was comfortable enough with. She'd constantly talked to him about morals and one night stands and things of such a nature for a week afterwards.

And, sometimes, she  _still_ brought it up.

Yugi knew that she did not want him to become one of the "fuck boys", as she so often called them. She wanted him to respect women and men or any partner he had. She didn't want him to  _ever_ have to regret his first time, whether it was a simple kiss or a touch or the full sexual experience.

She didn't want him to think that sex—especially the first time—was anything like what was shown in those videos. She wanted him to take it seriously, which, in retrospect, he agreed that the videos did not do by any means. He had told her on multiple occasions that he would not regret his first time. He didn't want to. He would admit that too.

And he would wait. He would wait and do it when it felt right and when he thought it was with the right person.

She honestly did not have anything to worry about as far as that went. But she still always walked in to check to make sure he was not indulging in that any longer. Yugi had, more often than not, ignored her entry in favor of playing with his homework or watching television.

He had heard about her first time before. She'd told him about it the moment that he'd hit puberty and taken a small peek at Tea's shirt. She had regretted her first time and she had become dead set on making sure that he never had to experience that same disappointment. He understood that, respected it, and he would gladly admit that he was rather happy that she did say those things every now and then.

Because half of the school seemed to always start bragging about having slept around.

And it was irritating to think that he could hear these stories about those girls and not experience the same.

"I don't think that sexual energy is the only thing that makes you feel okay, Yami. I don't think it's the only way you get energy. I think it's just exposure to me, actually."

Yami blinked at him, unimpressed by any means. Yugi paused, mind momentarily flashing to his conversation with his mother. Thinking about how often he heard those stories about conquest at school did not make him very happy. This conversation was something he shouldn't have been having. It was something he shouldn't have had to even consider having with him.

How often was it that he was teased that he would be a virgin for the rest of his life?

How often had he thought the same thing?

How often had he considered himself and Tea before?

Yugi looked at Yami for a long moment.

Had he had sex before?

His cheeks flushed for a moment. Irritation prickled at his insides. He felt stupid and small now, wondering at the reaction it might have on the other boy to begin with. If he was sure it was sexual energy he needed to heal himself, what was he doing in denying him?

Would it hurt him?

Stunt his growth?

Yugi blinked. But he did think that exposure between the two of them helped. There had to be another way to help him rather than  _just_ sexual peaks.

"I think…I think you're trying to push it where you shouldn't," he finally continued, watching the bored expression on the other boy's face. "You're extremely impatient and scared of me finding a way to kill you while you are still so weak."

It took only a heartbeat for Yami to bristle at him furiously. He was on his feet in the same second, eyes cold and flashing. Yugi wondering what he might have been doing at his desk,. But a part of him thought that perhaps Yami had been looking at his reflection in the metal.

It was an odd idea and one that Yugi suspected Yami had actually put there in his head in response to his curiosity. But then his mind wandered to playing cards. He glanced over at the desk, but there was no deck in sight. And he had a sneaking suspicion that Yami did not possess the patience for invisible ones.

The thought almost made him laugh out loud.

But Yami did not so much as glance in the direction of the shiny metal once more. "Precautions are the way of survival," he spat in a soft, vicious tone, red eyes flashing. He could not name the emotion he saw there at first, until he felt the accompanying prickle of it as it lashed at his insides. Yami was insecure, scared that Yugi might have even noticed it. His jaw jumped slightly beneath his skin. "You must either adapt to your situation,  _working_ to become stronger than what you are and ensure you come out on top, or you shall roll over and allow your life to be taken."

"That's your opinion, not mine." Yugi regretted the sharpness of his tone for only a moment. Then he paused, chewing his cheek, and watched Yami closely for a sign of anger or discomfort. But now the other boy was studying him. His red eyes were regarding every movement he made with clear strength and power. "I'm not going o hurt you. If I had planned to do that, I would have by now Yami. Don't you get it yet? If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done so just like if you could kill me without repercussions, it would have happened already."

Yami stayed silent for a moment. Then his lips curled back and his teeth were glittering white spikes of enamel. He snarled low in his throat, eyeing him warily. Then something almost like exhaustion came over him. For a single, split second, Yami's entire body seemed to grow smaller, folding in on itself. And his eyes seemed to darken, drooping, his lips pulled into a grimace. His shoulders slumped, dragging at his body entirely.

Then he blinked. Yami was all-powerful, vicious and cunning, once more. He stood with his teeth bared. His eyes were glittering angrily and his expression was cold and fierce. A blatant warning, boring into his angrily, told him to heed any thoughts he had towards his weakness.

Yugi wanted to nod at him. He wished he could show him he understood. But a part of him realized that Yami might lash out viciously in regards to him. Any soft-spoken words or gentle attention might make the red-eyed boy lunge and snap his jaws at his throat for all he knew. He did not want to have his acknowledgment. He didn't want to have Yugi reassure him that he was not going to overstep.

So Yugi merely exhaled quietly and began speaking again.

"You know, I figured something out while I was doing my homework yesterday. I was sitting where you just were and I was playing with my eraser and trying to figure out the answer to a math question and it hit me. By the  _gods_ , did it  _hit me_." He laughed softly, shaking his head and going quiet once more.

Yami had raised his head slightly. The soft snarl which left his lips was cold and angry. The warning was clear and cold. He was warning him of treading on dangerous ground, angered and cold in his defiance. Yami may have been scared, but he would rip Yugi to pieces if he pressed on that advantage.

"Here's the thing. You're not actually afraid of me. You're not afraid of yourself either. You're not afraid of death, even. You are actually afraid of getting to the point where you are strong enough to stand on your own two feet again because when you do that, you might be  _too_ strong." He drew in a long breath, then exhaled slowly as his mouth began to dry out for a moment. Then he blinked slowly, licked his lips, and watched Yami curiously. "You think that if you manage some distance between us and only come back to get more energy from me, then you can sustain some kind of way of keeping us intact until the end of this."

"I don't care if you are to die," Yami spat, bristling angrily. His red eyes flashed and burned into his. The way they bore into his skin scared Yugi more than anything for a moment. "I will never care if that happens."

Yugi couldn't help but smile minutely.

"No, you're right. You wouldn't care. The only thing that would make you care about that is if you were taken with me. And you think that exposure to me for long amounts of time will mean that one of us is going to die. You think we can't coexist."

"We can't."

Yami said it so simply, with such conviction, that Yugi almost stopped short. His eyes flickered about the room for a moment, though more towards the corners of the room. The lurch of the wall seemed to have made him more uncomfortable than Yugi could imagine.

Something about his voice made Yugi want to abruptly agree and call it a day. Then maybe he could pretend it was all over. Then he could get back to his regular life. Or maybe he'd sleep with the other boy and never have to see him again. Which would be the better option at this rate?

Yami seemed to merely bring pain and hatred more than anything else.

It occurred to Yugi that it was both exhaustion and the authoritative knowledge behind his voice that made him pause before shaking his head. Yami was tired, but he was willing to fight him. And he'd do it as subtly as was necessary to make him listen.

"Yes, Yami, we can."

"No, you little, stupid, pathetic  _fool_! We cannot coexist! We will never be able to coexist! When around you, all I can think about is how easily your skin shreds and just how  _fragile_ human bones truly are," Yami snarled, shoulders rising once more. He bore his teeth and breathed out raggedly for a moment. "I want to break you in half and rip your heart out of your ribcage. I want to cut your scalp away with my nails and lick the blood from my fingers. You have no idea how many times I have attempted killing you already."

"Twenty-six—and counting if you do so again."

Yami froze in place. His eyes grew thrice as large. His mouth opened a small millimeter. Then he blinked stupidly. His expression twisted, head tilting to the side. He blinked again, brows drawing forward. Yugi could only describe the expression as puzzled and alarmed astonishment.

And it had to be the purest visual of it he had ever seen before in his life.

"Yeah, I started thinking about it. I was half asleep when it suddenly occurred to me several times that you had tried to kill me in my dreams. Then you tried to do it while I was asleep or when you choked me. You want to because you hate what I have done to you by playing with the Puzzle but you can't. Either it has to do  _with_ the Puzzle or it has to do with this strange equilibrium that we're lacking now, but it's what's keeping me alive right now."

"Smart boy."

"Not the first time I've heard that," Yugi said playfully. He flashed him a wide grin, eyes full of amusement. "Though, I've never heard it with that asshole tone, either."

"Asshole tone?" Yami drawled, red eyes bored again. "That's cute. You actually think to try to fight me through lecturing me about what voice I might use."

"Oh, bullshit, Yami. I don't want to fight you! In fact, if you really think you can do it, kill me. Here and now, Yami. Do it. I want to see if you can break your own nature, because it's not  _nearly_ as one-sided as you're attempting to make it."

Yami remained perfectly still for several heartbeats. His eyes flashed, first with shock, then open confusion, and then a wave of desire and temptation floored Yugi. The smaller teen nearly fell on his ass with the force of it. Before him, the deity watched him with something wild in his eyes, his irises alight with power and his pupils blown heavily.

Every muscle in his body had tensed. And he looked as if he might lunge forward and rip his head from his shoulders. But something held him there. Yugi could feel it, an inkling of fear which made his spine tighten. He was frozen in place by it. It was clear he might not have openly feared death, but for now he was scared by it.

The deity was held by the briefest idea that he might be flesh and bone for the moment and return back to his original state without having to die first. And that solution, that suggestion, was the only thing which kept him from attack.

Finally, as Yugi continued to stare at him, Yami clenched his jaw tightly and took a reluctant step back. The smaller boy chewed his cheek and sighed softly at the action. It was oddly disappointing to see Yami back away as he had.

He had not wanted to make him feel even more threatened than he already did. He had simply wanted to make him see the truth in his words. And, as the other looked at him, he felt miserable and pathetic for even thinking of it. Because now, Yami looked at him with such a pathetic expression that he thought maybe he had killed him on the inside.

"Look, I don't plan to hurt you," Yugi pleaded, feeling desperately and stupid. "I've never wanted to hurt you, Yami—I've never wanted to hurt  _anyone_."

Yami straightened slightly, defensive and coiled like a snake. His voice left him in a spitting hiss, almost as if he were a snake. "But you have. You brought me here and I have suffered for it. The blood on my hands is equally smeared upon yours. The equilibrium of it exists because you have brought the threat here to your humble little world."

Yugi nodded slightly in consent. "Yeah, I guess so."

The other boy looked startled and put out by the statement. It was almost as if he had expected him to fight and claw at him until they were truly tearing each other to pieces. His red eyes narrowed. He was briefly confused. Then he became frustrated, so openly angry, that Yugi felt dizzy upon the way it crashed through him.

Then his features changed completely. His expression become bored and his eyes were dulled with a layer of ice he could not see past. His lips pursed to the side the smallest fraction and his canine poked out to puncture the soft skin.

Yugi watched a small bead of red appear but the expected sting did not come with it. He blinked, confused, and a startling clarity struck his insides. Yami did not feel the small cut. The sight of it made Yugi feel sick and small. He blinked, startled as Yami found the other glaring at him in open confusion. Hatred and disgust swelled through him in currents and waves like the ocean crashing against rocky cliffs.

But the furrowed brows expressed his confusion, which Yugi could feel growing beneath the burden of his anger. He was struggling to fully grasp the situation. Such an easy agreement had not been expected, nor had Yami desired it.

The small teen swallowed hard.

"But we both know that I  _cannot_ control you and even if I were to find a way, I wouldn't," he admitted softly. It was a small, gentle promise, one which Yugi was not sure how Yami might respond to. But the deity recoiled as if he had been struck. His canine dug further into his lip and the blood came in a small stream rather than a tiny bead.

His eyes had grown owlish, shocked, and he was frozen as he collided with the desk chair. The noise which left him was a snarl, his teeth chomping at thin air. Then he blinked, stiff once more, and stared back at Yugi almost blindly. Yet, something about the way he looked at him said he saw through him at the same time as he watched him for movement.

Yugi shrugged, offering him a gentle smile. Now his lip began to sting and the pain was sharp and intense as it struck at him. Yami's own had begun to swell and Yugi had the urge to lean forward and suck on it soothingly. He wanted to draw it into his mouth and kiss away the slight ache.

"I don't want to take away someone else's free will, no matter what they do with it. I've never tried to do anything like that before and I never  _will_. It's wrong. And I already know that trying to force you to do anything against your will would only result in backlash that I don't think I can actually  _handle_. So, no, I would never attempt to control you. I can try to stop you from killing if I'm there, but I don't want to have to force myself on you."

"Why?" he spat coldly, narrowing his eyes into slits. "I did it to you."

Had he? The most he'd done is kiss him, touch him. He'd never tried to force his hand as far as  _making_ him do things. He'd never tried to smother his will with his own to force him to do certain things. He was easygoing in that aspect. He may have  _wished_ to influence him, but he had never stepped over the line to  _force_ him into certain actions.

Did Yami honestly think that ignoring him and trying to influence his thoughts was the same as potentially stripping someone of their will? Did he truly think that?

"Yeah…maybe. But I don't want to have to try to do the same to you." Yugi paused, watching him for a moment. Then he smiled faintly and shook his head. "It isn't right and I…I don't blame you for anything you've done. You were trying to survive and I didn't know how to help you before. I do now, though. And I'll help you if you will let me."

Yami stared at him with such a comically shocked expression that he would have guffawed in another situation. His entire body was frozen, his mouth having opening into a tight "o" while his brows had shot up and he was unable to stop blinking.

In another situation, Yugi might have split his sides laughing.

But this one was hardly even faintly amusing to him. The red-eyed teen seemed to be shaking in that moment. His mentality was cracking, breaking, before him. Vibrant waves of energy curled off him like the darkness that he had shown him back at the park. He swore he heard grinding noises, grating metal and shattering glass, blood dripping, and furious ripples of raw pain surged into him. He was breathless, shivering, as he stared back at Yami.

"I do not  _need_ your help," the other teen finally snarled after a moment. But even he recognized the hollowness of his voice. The lack of bite in his tone was flummoxing to the red-eyed boy. He drew in a long breath. "I can handle this on my own."

"Why does everything have to be such a fight with you?" Yugi sighed softly. But he could not help but smile, shaking his head in amusement. He had been right in his assumptions earlier then. Yami would turn his nose up with help was offered, but he was not so stupid as to completely reject it.

He would have to take time to think it over. He'd analyze the pros and the cons to the last minute detail. And he'd do it in mere seconds rather than the hours it might take others. He was quick and willful and he knew of every slight degree of change which might come of it.

Yugi was almost certain that if he was careful enough with the words he chose, he might make Yami feel compelled to do the exact opposite of what he had just said. He'd do it  _just_ to spite him, he was sure. What he wasn't sure of, however, was whether that amused or disappointed him that Yami allowed himself to be so easily manipulated.

"Can't you just let me help you?"

"I don't  _need_ …" He paused, expression growing blank again. For a moment he was simply silent. Then he tipped his head to the side once more. His eyes darkened a shade, and Yugi could see the thoughts churning behind them, his irises sparking as if lit by flames. He was clearly smart enough to know when he was not going to get very far with an argument.

He did not  _want_ to consent to the help he was offered, but he was also not foolish. Yami considered him for a moment just as Yugi studied him. He would not assume that he could do everything on his own like someone else might. For all his arrogance, the deity seemed to be considering and thinking it all through.

His silence towards their argument was bewildering. He was not even fighting him in any manner now. But his eyes were glittering as they flickered towards the ceiling, lips curling back at the sky blue color which greeted him there.

Abruptly his head snapped back towards him. "Very well," he spat softly, narrowing his gaze and tilting his head. "What is it that you have in mind?"

Yugi grinned slightly, looking him over with a sense of proud amazement. It was relieving to hear those words, to see how he was awaiting his direction now. He was no longer dying anything between them anymore. It shocked him, but it elated him just as much.

He put his hands in his pockets and faltered when he saw the way the other stiffened. His shoulders rose the slightest bit, but not so far as to be obvious. Yugi paused, confused, but then realized Yami was preparing himself for something that would never come. He was waiting for Yugi to pull something out, possibly to hit him with it.

"Just sticking around each other," he explained, frowning at the idea that Yami distrusted him so easily. He was so blatant in it that Yugi felt almost sick to see it. "I think it would work better than your plan. It might hurt—no, it  _will_ hurt—and it sure as hell is going to be uncomfortable as fuck for both of us. But honestly…I think it will be okay afterwards."

Yami stared at him blankly.

Yugi could hear a clock on the wall ticking loudly.

It made him dizzy as he swallowed hard.

"Don't you?"

Yami stared at him again. Then he sighed loudly from behind his teeth. The noise was a sharp, hideous, ragged burst of sound. "Very well," he relented, appearing further frustrated. "We shall attempt it. I do not know what the fuck you expect from it. But I can tell you that it will not work."

"Oh,  _please_ , you have no idea if it will or not," he teased gently. He grinned at him widely as Yami sneered at him noiselessly in open disregard. "If you did, you wouldn't have tried so hard your way instead of considering  _mine_."

Yami scoffed loudly but didn't argue. Instead he turned away and shook his head.

"But first…" Yami turned his head just enough to look at him from the corner of his eye, watching him with mounting impatience and disregard. "I wanted to try something."

The silence was so thick Yugi felt he was choking on it. The deity did nothing more than tilt his head the smallest degree further, beckoning him to continue. The smaller teen wondered if he felt the suffocating measures of their quietness as well.

"I wanted to know if you would show me what it is that keeps you from just taking the Puzzle."

The words brought such anger through their bodies that Yugi flinched openly. The deity's eyes narrowed into slits and his pupils expanded as the shadows darkened across his gaze. From the corner of his long lashes, his iris began to glow and burn as it bore into his face. Yami tipped his head the smallest degree further. A snarl formed on his face, the softest touch of a sneer across his lips.

Yugi realized the potential of the situation a second too late. Yami thought of it all as a trap now. And he realized with no small touch of resentment that it made sense. If he had dragged Yami out of his world using it, he imagined a measure of caution was only necessary and understandable by any means. He would be just as wary and upset by the idea if he were the other boy.

But Yami had also tried to steal it on several different occasions.

And now, Yugi was trying to see why it was that he had not done it.

In all reality, it sounded like a show of some kind. It sounded like an elaborate trap, something from a show. It was something that would be done to outsmart the monster being hunted, to trap it in a magical item for all eternity.

But Yami was not a monster. In fact, if Yugi was honest, he thought he might be one of the farthest things from one. If what he had been saying were to be believed, he was a god. If it wasn't, then he was simply an egotistical person. Or a creature with such arrogance as to change the world. However, the latter was more likely than the second. Yami had magic that didn't add up to what his grandpa had said he'd been able to do in his prime. And his soul still being in one piece upon being dragged out of the Shadow World was another indicator.

Yami was simply a wild, angry creature. Whether he was a god or not was different. He could have been a demon for all Yugi knew. But it was clear that Yami was at least highly confused. He was violent, feral, confused egotistical creature which seemed to have a rather warped conscious and cared nothing for anyone else.

He supposed that even this enabled more of an idea that it was a trap set for the red-eyed teen. He could understand his hesitation even more as the seconds passed. And, if Yami were to be reading his mind at that moment, he would most likely end up wondering just what the hell had caused him to begin rambling as he was.

This thought brought him a very pointed look. Yami blinked only once, then tilted his head slightly. His brows flattened, his lips pursed slightly, and his red eyes seemed almost glazed for a moment. He was bored and disdainful of the blandness that his line of thoughts had taken.

"You  _have_ tried to take it a couple of times, after all. I mean…I guess I could understand that considering it's what brought you here. So maybe it might be able to send you back, but I don't know." Yugi licked his lips and watched him with bright eyes. "I don't understand why you haven't just run off with it if that was what you planned to do…"

"Why?"

Yami was muttering, but his voice was caught between cold laughter and a frustrating indifference. He stared at him incredulously, expression mocking, but when the seriousness did not fall from Yugi's own face, he began to sober some. There was a sense of determination in his blue-violet eyes and Yami found himself growing disturbingly aware of just how unwarranted his amusement truly was.

But his mouth was curved with the smallest grin of disbelief. And his eyes shimmered with something between mockery and hate. His insides felt cold, their eyes boring into each other. His mouth pulled back slightly further, curling away to show off his teeth minutely. There was something unnerved in his muscles, and the taller teen found himself caught in the hideous twist of pain which came with the remembrance.

His blood had begun to hum in his veins, though it felt as if ice had been placed within them, and they stared at one another once more. The red-eyed teen tilted his head further, his expression falling into pure bewilderment.

"You…" He blinked, as if struggling to truly get the words into his thoughts and then out of his mouth. "You…wish to see what makes me  _unable_ to take the Puzzle from you… Why you still have the Puzzle and I do not…"

The hesitant edge of his voice made the statement sound more of a question than anything. Yugi frowned slightly, licking his lips again, unnerved and startled by his tone. Then he blinked and watched him more pointedly as he nodded.

"Yeah…I really do."

A low almost gargling quality accompanied the small exhale which left the other boy. It was almost as if he were attempting to growl and failing. For a moment he watched him, then smirked and started over to him. He stopped a foot away, his expression that of a feral animal. "Take it off and hold it out," he finally instructed.

But, the longer Yugi looked at him, he seemed to be growing more and more incredulous. Something about the entire thing had caused Yami to disbelief in his request, to the point that it was growing more visible than Yugi was comfortable seeing. He was not even sure that Yami was comfortable with the display of such emotion on his face. It would seem to Yugi that he would shy away from that if only to annoy him.

Yugi considered him for a moment longer and then finally cupped the upside down pyramid comfortably in his hands. His palms tingled slightly with energy, warmth and cold all at once, and slowly stretched it out for him to reach.

His insides were burning and his skin prickled. He could feel it already. His fingers were blistering and searing pain raced through his temples. His blood was so hot it made him want to snarl. His ears were ringing and his thoughts staggered for a moment. He stared at Yugi's hands, at the artifact resting between his palms. His fingers were centimeters shorter than his own and he wondered at this realization as he had the first time he'd come to notice it. Yami struggled for something to ground him, for his throat was too dry and the refracted light the Puzzle gleamed with seemed to burn in his pupils. He tasted raw flesh in his mouth as if his cells were breaking down and rotting behind his teeth. He wished, for the smallest of moments, to turn on his heel and run.

But his body was frozen in place. And some spiteful part of him sneered that deities  _did not run_. Deities did not  _show weakness._ A deity was great and all powerful and meant to deal with even the most stressful of things.

He was hateful, though he did not know where it was directed at such a moment.

The bane of his existence rested in the small human's palms. The boy, the very core of his domain, held the very prison of his magic, the formation of his flesh and blood and bone and organs.

Blankly, Yami's mind circled back once more. The two thoughts were the most predominant in his head, impossible to ignore. His mind raced and circled and found its way only between these two. He thought of those games with the small handles and balls which the wings controlled by them were used to toss it across the board at different angles. For whatever inexplicable reason, the name pinball appeared in his head for what felt like hours. Then it slowly dissipated again.

He felt it more than he consciously realized it, but his lip was curling. He was angered by his own hesitation, infuriated by it, and so it made it impossible for him to focus beyond this emotion. He did not want to touch it. He did not want to so much as be within twenty miles of the damn Item.

His stomach jerked again. He eyed it.

But he could mostly see the delicate lines of purple and blue along Yugi's skins, the paths of his veins. It made his head spin. They looked like twisted branches in a tree, or perhaps outer arms of a river with too many paths to travel. He thought of the stems of leaves, where they grew outwards from the center and stretched in the tiniest mirror of the branches they had been resting on formerly.

His head hurt.

A spider web was in the focus of his mind now. He thought of magic in dark black tendrils and jagged red flashes of light or touches of bright blue-violet and sparks of silver. From there came the touch of dewdrops along the white strands, centered perfectly with soft glistening beads of color and light the shade of dripping honey.

Yami could not shake this image. And, as his eyes flickered slowly towards Yugi's face, he realized he might as well have been the fly to the small boy's spider. His heart was in his throat now. His stomach ached. His head was spinning once more.

The heart was the core of Yugi's being, just like the web was the focus of the spider's lifestyle and camouflage. It was like the veins on his wrists, the stem of a leaf in sunlight. His heart circulated blood. The web allowed the spider nutrients. But, as he faced Yugi and these thoughts came to his mind, his focus spiraled and darkened once more and his brain seemed to pound within his skull. He nearly snarled angrily.

It would be so easy.

It would be so damn  _easy_.

He could reach into his chest, pull his heart right out.

He could squeeze it in his palm and…

Yami looked back at him, their eyes locking for a moment. It was dizzying, but his lips pulled back into the slightest of sneering smirks. His thoughts were racing and his heart was shaking and speeding in his own chest.

Maybe Yugi would even offer to let him do so. Maybe he would simply…

He forced his eyes to fall upon the Puzzle once more. It was disgusting how powerfully he was held at bay like this. It felt as if eternity had come and passed before him, around him, had touched and encompassed him. But in reality, his logical mind, told him it had only been mere seconds. Time was warped in his head, his perception of it all but nonexistent, and so it moved imperceptibly, as if it were never to be measured.

He would think that hours had passed when only minutes might have, if even that. He would assume minutes had passed when only a nanosecond might have. Yami was not surprised as he considered this.

His reality and existence was not marked by the passage of time.

It affected others but it excluded him.

Time held no meaning for a creature which possessed immortality.

He reached out, but he did not truly wish to touch it. The wave of energy that came from the artifact was violent and terrible. It pulsated, with enough force to stun him. His entire body seemed to light with power and then scream within him. It came hot, then chilled through his bones as if with ice. It made Yugi flinch, though he did not back up a step.

It slammed into them both the second time, however. Yami parted his lips only slightly, his jaws clenched too tightly to be forced apart. His initial response had been to clamp his jaws and try to force away the throbbing which crashed through his nerve endings. But then he raised his hand again from where it had dropped at his side.

His eyes were blown, pupils wide and black and swelling to swallow away the red of his irises. Yugi smiled at him only when he saw how distressed Yami was, licking his lips and nodding in encouragement. The deity hesitated a moment longer, however, and the energy which had flared and touched them both now seemed to coil inwards as if to strike once more.

Yami looked at him, eyes dark, his irises swallowing the edges of his strange pupils, and watched him with a cold expression. His fingers stretched forward and the tips just barely brushed the surface of the hollow golden pendant.

Yugi screamed. Fire burst through his limbs. His body was frozen in place. Yami snarled furiously. He recoiled and spat through his teeth. His fingers were throbbing, pulsating. Heat raced and burned through him. His bones seemed to splinter and break. His temples burst and throbbed. Burning flesh was the smell within the air.

The Puzzle blazed a path of energy through Yugi's very blood. The artifact collapsed to the floor. Yugi screamed again. His fingers were burning. His head was aching hideously. His temples seemed to split with pain. His hands were shaking. His fingers were quaking. His fingers were swollen. The centers of his palms were blistered.

The flesh of his hand was inflamed, reddened. He felt as if he might have stuck his hand in an open flame.

"Oh my  _god_!" he cursed. The sound of his voice was choked with a weak sob. His ears were throbbing. He wondered if he was dying. He wondered if he was bleeding. He felt more than slightly lost. His heart was shaking in his chest. How had he ever thought to…? There was something low and keen that entered his ears.

Yugi gasped for breath. He was stunned and confused at the moment. He was absolutely dazed, in fact. But the edges of the whisper grew and curled. It bubbled and burst and the sound grew harsher in volume. His head rose slightly but he did not pull his eyes away. His hands were a bright, hideous red.

He blinked in confusion. His vision was blurred and weak. It was strained, giving him sight of doubles. And the colors were diluted. The floor looked gray, scratchy and dirty and strange. But the fibers still glittered as if struck by the sunlight. His hands were a strange, grayish color now. And somehow the red flared like bright blood spill.

Slowly, stunned, Yugi raised his eyes. His double vision made it hard to focus. The images were disgusting. He did not—no, he  _could_ not—recognize it at first. His mind could not grasp it. Yami had his head down. He was hunched over almost completely. He looked as if he had been folded. He looked like pants draped over a hanger.

His hands were in his hair. They looked like pale streaks against a night sky. His fingers were clenched against his scalp. His nails were so deep in his skin that Yugi feared he would draw blood. It was a miracle he was not bleeding.

Yet, the sight horrified him.

A terror filled him so vibrantly that it shook his entire being.

He opened and closed his mouth, panicking at the sight.

His vision was still dark and distorted. Colors seemed to spark and burst like stars behind his skull. His vision danced and blurred, swelling and then squeezing. Weakly, he squeezed his eyes shut. He felt choked, as if his insides might become overrun with cold ice water.

His mind focused solely on the Puzzle. It came in trickles of light and color. And it slammed so hard through him that it stunned him.

He blinked his eyes open again. His eyes shot to the floor. The only thing his vision could focus on was the Item itself. The impact had dislodged several pieces. They were easily fixed. But they were gleaming and glittering. And they  _shouldn't have been_.

Yami's shadow was blocking the light from the window. In fact, his shadow was so dark that it seemed the embodiment of night. It terrified the smaller boy. Yugi stretched a quaking hand out. The shadow his hand passed over was unnaturally cold. He felt the chill deep in his skin, inside his bones and freezing his veins.

But it also drenched his arm in what seemed like endless darkness.

And that scared Yugi more than the heat that flashed from the Puzzle.

He stumbled, nearly falling to his knees. He wished pathetically that Yami might snap at him to fix it. He wished he would snarl at him. He needed something. He had to have an outside source to spur him into action. He needed something to help him regain his thoughts. He had to have something to—

His ears were pounding with some kind of hideous silence. He felt as if his mind were lost within a bubble. It burst his eardrums but something caught his attention more than even this.

Yami's snarl had grown tenfold. It was deep, riveting, and tore through the air. It made the cold vibrate and the darkness harsher than ever. It was almost like a scream.

Yugi's ears ached with the current of it. His mind pulsed with panic. He blinked, vision still split but somehow focused on the Puzzle all the same. The light glinted across his eye. It was golden and painful, prodding into his cornea like fire.

The noise grew louder, keener. The guttural undertone seemed to grow more immense than ever. His blood was rushing in his veins. It jerked in his muscles and he snatched at the piece nearest him where it rested on the carpet. He anticipated the heat. His panic made him blind to the intensity of it. He remembered then, the first time he had felt the backlash of the magic.

He drew this remembered temperature to the forefront of his mind. He recognized the pulsing before it vanished into nothingness. The metal was cold, sharp and lingering in its chill. He felt as if he had stuck his hand within chips of ice.

Yugi shook off his horrified surprise and scooped them together. The Puzzle lay on its broken edges. He swatted it. Yami's cries made him cringe. He struggled, hands shaking. The sound of the pieces collided made him want to cry pathetically. They clicked into place with resounding conviction, however. He trembled with relief upon realizing it.

He was trembling pathetically when he attempted the last piece. A low sob escaped him when it did not initially connect. He struggled harder. A whimper left him. His mind ached with the dull echo of Yami's snarls. A small, vague thought drifted through his attention.

Was it somehow  _fighting him_ in order to not be placed together again?

He hissed and focused on the other boy's distress, determination bursting through his veins. He pressed it firmly into place. He ignored the tremors that continued to rack his body.

The piece lodged together.

He was thrown sideways.

They rolled and hit the wall. His head collided with the plaster. His ears rang with a roaring dullness. His thighs ached with the knees pressing into them. His hips ached. A hand clawed through the fabric of his jeans and shirt. Another pressed itself into his throat. His Adam's apple ached. He swallowed and choked. His eyes refused to open, burning and bursting with color.

The hand clawing at his skin slipped beneath his shirt. Nails dug in and split skin. Yugi let out a pained cry. But still he did not raise a hand to stop him. His eyes snapped open again. He was painfully aware of Yami as his vision shot to his face. There was no chance of escape. He winced as he was squeezed violently. He watched him blankly. What more was there he could do?

Then, abruptly, Yami tore away from him. A hand touched at his temple and the other sunk into his hair once more.

"You  _piece of shit_ ," Yami snarled. His jaw clenched. His eyes were narrowed into mere slits. Yugi stared in horror at his hands. The tendons were bunching and shifting beneath his skin. They twisted and writhed like snakes. "You just…Don't want to kill me—isn't that just a  _gorgeous_  fucking laugh."

"I don't want to—I didn't mean to do that, Yami." He was pleading pathetically. Yugi stumbled weakly forward onto his knees. His eyes were watering in the corners and he let out a shattered breath. He reached out for him. Curved nails and hooked fingers swung for his face. Yugi dodged away with just a hair of space between them. His middle finger had nearly scraped his eye out. "I didn't—I said I wanted to see what happened when you touched it! I never knew this was what…"

"You just tried to  _kill_ me!" Yami accused him, eyes wild as he spat at him. His saliva was foaming, bubbling at the corners of is mouth. He spun on him with a vicious expression. His lips were trembling where they were bared. His eyes were constricted to pinpricks of starburst black. "You tried to kill me! The Puzzle has to be in  _one piece_!"

"One piece…?" he repeated blankly. His mind struggled to grasp the concept. His focus spun and twisted. His panic warped his sense of priority. His heart was in his throat. Blood coated his tongue. He licked his lips. The other boy bared his teeth again. Then his eyes dropped to the Puzzle. His expression was cautious and wariness had come upon his features. He backed up several steps, snarling low in his throat. "Oh my gods…Y-you were in-inside of the…"

Yami felt self-preservation stab through him. Instinctively he thought to snarl and snap his teeth at him angrily. But the horror and bewilderment on Yugi's face was reassuring. He had not  _known_ what was happening. He had not had any faint idea that the Puzzle had truly brought him there in such a way.

He exhaled viciously, his temper flaring despite it all. "You do not understand. I cannot go back," he spat in a low voice. His eyes glinted like daggers. His teeth were sharp as he bared them. He licked his lips. The shades of red spun and changed every moment. " _You_ fucking did this."

Yugi shook his head a few times. He tried to catch up with his statement. But his mind was still reeling. Had he truly been  _inside_ of the Puzzle at some point?  _His_ Puzzle? The Millennium Puzzle? The one that his grandpa had given him? The one that he had always been afraid would make him lose his mind or die or…or bring terrible suffering?

Had Yami been the cause of those who had lost their minds? Or had it simply been the Puzzle itself? As it had attacked them moments ago, had it kill all of those other people? Was the Puzzle to blame for Yami's behavior? Was it the source of that feral quality that lingered beneath his skin? Or was that just who he was? Was there no actual line to be drawn between them?

"You—you lived inside of the—"

Yugi yelped from the blow. The punch caught him straight in the cheek. He was set colliding back against the wall. The other teen was panting. His entire body was shaking with his breaths. His mouth was open and his jaw opened and closed twice. He looked dizzy, exhausted.

His distorted pupils had contracted to mere pinpricks once more. His teeth were bared again a moment later. He looked frustrated, furious. They stared at each other. A moment passed. Yugi's stomach dropped. His cheek was swelling. He could feel the ache of it in rapid pulses.

Yami simply wished for his voice to go quiet. He had not meant to hurt him. He had simply needed silence. He had to think. He'd needed distance between them. He had to get a grasp of the information he had just revealed. And what it was that sent them both into such downward spirals.

Yugi was staring at him now. His eyes were wide, stunned. But he did not say a word for a moment. Yami watched him, expression furious. The seconds ticked by. Finally the smaller teen licked his lips and looked down.

"S-sorry." He was muttering, feeling stupid and small. He tried to smile but winced at the pain in his cheek. He reached up to rub gently where Yami had inflicted the punch. The other teen breathed in harshly. They watched each other closely, studying and taking notes. Then Yami turned away again. He closed his eyes, sighing, and ran hands through his hair.

Yugi got to his feet. He took a step but Yami flinched away. "Look, Yami, please, I didn't mean—"

"If you should be so foolish as to come any closer to me, I will rip your damn spine out. I do not care what it should do to me in turn," the deity spat. His head had snapped up again. His teeth were bared and his eyes were glowing. He moved away again.

Yugi watched, almost mystified by it all. He turned to the Puzzle, facing the eye. It was turned upwards and staring upwards from the carpet.

He reached out for it. Then he snatched his hand away again. But the smell of charred flesh had returned.

But his fingers were still mildly blistered as they had been before. Yugi glanced slowly towards the Puzzle again, confused and horrified.

When he looked up again, he felt his heart plummet. His shoulders sagged.

Yami was long gone.

* * *

"You're back!"

Yugi started forward instantly. He was not sure what he planned to do—hug him, kiss him? Both seemed applicable. But first maybe he should have looked at whether he was still hurt from the Puzzle—

Yami held a hand up, halting him. His eyes were lowered from his face, focused, he realized, on the Puzzle hanging against his abdomen. His gaze flashed, immensely hostile, distinct in that mounting hatred. Yugi shivered at the sight of it, remembering how often it was so plainly directed towards him instead.

"Do  _not_ bring that thing near me again."

Yugi blinked, startled. Then he looked down at it. His mind flashed with the pain Yami had gone through the day before. His own finger twitched reflexively at the memory. He shrugged it away, then jerked the Puzzle over his head and tossed it to the bed. He wasn't watching it completely, but both of them saw it in their peripheral when it boxed as if riding a current of air.

Only when it landed did Yami turn to stare at it. His expression was disdainful and his lip was curled slightly. Yugi breathed out roughly. Had the Puzzle dropped over the side of the bed, the pieces might have dislodged again. A part of him choked with the thought, despaired but full of disdain for not paying attention to his aim.

Panic had burrowed itself into his lungs for a moment. He wanted, more than ever, to simply reach out and touch him now. He had to know that Yami was okay. His chest felt tight and painful as he looked at him. Whatever it was that the Puzzle had done to drag the other boy there, he was grateful, but he was still fearful.

Embarrassment came through him a second later. Had Yami heard that?

Yugi was tense when Yami ignored him for a long moment. Then, slowly, he blinked and tilted his head. A brow was raised, his eyes on him. The entire expression was skeptical, his gaze cut through with his long lashes.

The smaller teen blushed slightly, then grinned at him brightly.

"What? You're  _far_ more interesting than hearing Joey go on about Mai or Tea talk about dancing or Tristan complain about how Miho only seems to like him for his money." He was teasing, but the sincerity was there as well, and Yami wrinkled his nose at the words. "And the Puzzle sure as fuck doesn't do anything aside from hang around my neck so…"

"And  _I_ am still not a game for you to play," Yami spat, bristling. His eyes shot to the Puzzle once more, caught and held there for what seemed like hours. He looked almost as if he expected it might take a new form and leap out at him. Yugi wondered momentarily if he might still feel its magic on his skin. Was it still giving off a small pulse akin that forceful wave they'd encountered yesterday?

He bit his cheek and looked at it more pointedly as well, heart pounding in his chest now. Did he feel it every time the Puzzle was nearby? Was it hurting him? No wonder he was always so suspicious and unhappy with the very idea of being in the same room as it.

"Which means you should find some new form of entertainment."

"Except that I don't really need to. I don't picture you as a source of entertainment anyways, Yami," Yugi stated with a frown, voice sincere but tired as well. He shook his head at him and his expression looked slightly puzzled. "I just…I think you're fascinating as opposed to that kind of stuff, I guess. If I wanted to think of you as entertainment, I would consider you a TV show or a video game. And you're not either of those two things,  _are_  you, Yami?"

Those brilliant red eyes flickered towards him again. A second passed. Then he shrugged lightly and seemed almost at a loss as to how to respond to the words. His eyes were unnaturally uncertain. But when he seemed to realize Yugi noticed it, his expression morphed quickly into a blank mask that made the smaller teen smile faintly. He didn't want Yami to feel uncomfortable, but he did his best to relieve some of that by looking towards the clock and then back again.

"Well…I'm glad that you didn't stay gone today," he commented warmly, unable to think of anything else to say. He licked his lips, feeling almost vulnerable for speaking the words. His eyes were glittering as Yami considered him, but he did not seem inclined towards anything malicious. The red-eyed boy sniffed softly and wondered at the idea of it.

But, as Yugi continued to stare, an unnerved sensation picked at Yami's spine. His eyes grew a little wider, confusion crawling through him. Alarm came seconds later, guarded and altogether disturbed. Yugi blinked, confused by the expression, and quickly the deity narrowed his eyes to stare at him with something of a glare. They disappeared beneath the shadows of his long lashes, becoming two blank slates of dark red glass around his pupils.

"I don't know what exactly I would have done if you hadn't come back," he admitted, feeling almost breathless and small. "It was a nice surprise to come back upstairs after working with Grandpa all day, anyways…"

Yami still did not respond to his statement. He blinked once, narrowing his eyes further. He tilted his head, opting for silence as his eyes bore into Yugi's. What was the point of his words now? Why was he even assuming to attempt conversation with him as it was? Yami wondered at the thought, uncertain as to what more to do.

"Are you hungry?"

Hungry?

Yami blinked again, mystified. Did this boy never listen to him?

"Because, I was  _thinking_  that I should probably teach you how to use chopsticks but I kind of really feel like finger food—pizza, maybe. Yeah, I think maybe I'll order a pizza! Extra cheese—um, do you like meat on yours? I guess I'll get something on there for you—pepperoni or maybe sausage?" Yugi blinked and tilted his head. "I like pepperoni more and you kind of like the same things as me, right? Anyways, well, Grandpa is going to bed early tonight since he just got back from the hospital, so! If you want, you could come into the kitchen or just hang out in here. I'll sneak some food in—though my mom might be a little pissed about—"

"Do not bother."

Yugi faltered, eyes widening further. Yami had raised a hand to silence him and the smaller teen felt alarm crawl through the air between them. Yami's lip curled back as they stared at each other for a moment.

"What?"

His left canine glinted faintly. His eyes were flashing dangerously. Yugi blinked, stunned by the feral display. At first he could not understand how he might have threatened him. And then his head spun with realization. Yami was simply reacting to his emotions.

"Are you, uh…n-not going to stay the night?"

The question made him falter. He blinked, tilting his head, and studied him for a moment. But the frustration was evident in his voice as he growled, "Yes, I had planned to remain here the night. I just have no need or care for food. I am not hungry."

Yugi opened his mouth to snap at him. He had to be hungry! He had never seen Yami eat before and he had to be hungry at some point. If he had to sleep at times, he had to eat, didn't he? And, maybe it was crazy to think, but he doubted that Yami truly cared to go foraging for food or hunting unless it was absolutely necessary.

But then he remembered the conversation they had had about pancakes and the day before when he'd said he needed to stop touching him so inappropriately and his stomach dropped painfully. Yami didn't survive off of human food. He felt oddly small and shaken with the knowledge, their conversation swallowing him for a moment.

His mouth opened and closed once as he looked away. His eyes flickered towards the corner of his long lashes. "I can't…I can't give you that—I mean…I-I could, but, not…not now."

Yami shook his head sharply, eyes disdainful as they shot to the ceiling. "I did not say that I wished for that, now did I, Yugi? I merely said that you should not bother with food. I said I would at least  _attempt_ your little plan of us evening out. Or whatever it was you planned to achieve through exposure to each other." He looked down at his nails now, picking at them and narrowing his eyes with a sly smirk. "This is what I had planned to do. Now go eat your food and do not bother with bringing anything back here for me. I will not eat it."

Yugi bit his lip and frowned, watching him. Yami tilted his head slightly. His expression was somewhat puzzled as he looked at him. Then his lips pulled back to show off gleaming white teeth in a wicked smile.

"But, you should know, Yugi, that if I do this and it fails—or perhaps I should say  _when_ it fails—you shall have to agree to my terms as well."

Yugi watched him for a moment longer. He knew better than to take place in a bet like this. After struggling with self esteem growing up, from banter about conquests to the constant pressure of bullies who teased and hated him, he knew better. And, due to his agreement with his mother, that he should not regret his first time, it all seemed rather ironic and perhaps even dirty. His consideration now seemed almost stupid.

But, when it came down to it, if it meant helping Yami out—and himself as well—why should he ever regret it?

It was nothing that he would tell people at school. And he was not even sure he liked the idea of his friends knowing that lame cover story about their hookup. He knew it had hurt Tea but Tristan and Joey were merely somewhat disturbed by the idea that they had both missed the signs, as if it affected them at all.

"Yeah, all right. If this fails, then you can have me."

Yugi felt dizzy, but his voice came out calm. He resisted the urge to lick his lips and swallow hard. He fought back a small shiver, though he was unsure whether it was fear or exhilaration at the moment. The emotions already twisted in the air did nothing to give him answers as it was.

"But it won't fail."

He had to believe in that.

"Except when it does, then I  _will_ have you."

"It won't."

"It will."

Yugi smiled and shook his head. His gaze was a little softer as he watched him, and Yami was surprised that he could be so amused by his stubbornness or the smug expression he wore on his own face. But the smaller teen was paying more attention to that bright, slightly hopeful, mostly lewd gleam that lit his irises in a beautiful incandescent ruby.

"Whatever, Yami," he argued with a brighter grin, tilting his head. Yami smirked wider and wrinkled his nose slightly. "I'm going to talk my mom into letting me order pizza. And, when this is over, I'm going to have fun laughing at just how wrong you actually were."

Yami raised a brow, challenge glittering in his eyes. "Funny," he purred, running his tongue over his teeth and resisting the urge to burst out laughing as Yugi's entire face turned bright red. "I do not believe that you will have a voice  _left_  with which to speak when I am finished with you."

Yugi cursed under his breath. His entire face was bright red and he could feel his ears tingling with the heat as well. His skin burned as he stared at the other boy who chuckled in pure amusement. Yami shook his head and flicked his wrist at him in a dismissive shooing motion. Yugi was still blushing furiously as he turned on his heel and made his way quickly out the door. His head was spinning as he shut the door behind him and made his way into the kitchen. His stomach twisted with nerves and his blood felt hotter beneath his skin once more.

As it was, he was acutely aware of just how deeply rooted and almost physical their attraction was. It was entirely too damn powerful as it was. And, when he thought about it, he was sure that at the end of it all, they would wind up having sex anyways.

It was hard enough trying to fight Yami off when he was simply kissing him. And his first impulse upon seeing him when he'd walked into the room had been to touch him in some way or form. Whether he wanted to admit it to the deity or not, they both knew how it would play out.

He believed in his plan, in the theory that he might be okay and they might stabilize somewhat due to exposure. But he knew it as well as Yami did. He would fold like a leaf to the god's desires—because he knew they were his own as well. It was not so much a question of if but rather of  _when_.

They both knew it.

And that's why Yami was still so distinctly smug where he was seated in the desk chair in Yugi's room. He was smirking in there—Yugi could  _feel_ it. It seemed impossible for him to contain it fully, regardless of their connection. It seemed to surge through the walls and encompass the very house. He was probably sitting there, waiting, legs kicked up, ready to smirk and snicker and tease him until his face was permanently stained red.

The fact remained, however, that he was not under any sense of delusion. Just because they did this, it did not guarantee that Yami would feel better and that the attraction might change. If anything, he thought it would grow deeper. It was so deeply ingrained in him that he was pretty sure he would always be more wrapped around the other teen that he would anyone else. It was unfair and cruel to think about, restricting by all means.

But it was oddly nice as well. It was nice to think that he could feel that way about something, someone—anything, any _one_.

Maybe Yami was not an ideal person to have as a friend. He was intimately dangerous. Yugi was well aware of that. But it was not something to stand between him and trying to reach out. And, when he considered it fully, he knew it was of a thought process that circulated around possession. He wanted Yami for his own. Despite everything inside of him, his morals and standards, he  _wanted_ Yami.

It had to be the weirdest experience of his life attempting to navigate that kind of situation. But it was not enough to make him second guess.

If anything, it just made him that much more assured that he needed to do it.

The only real question to consider was whether or not he and Yami would come out of the situation completely okay. He had no idea if they would be completely wounded from it all.

He didn't think that he had ever actually  _been_ completely okay before.

Not once in his life.

He glanced over his shoulder and into the hallway, staring at his door for a moment. Then he shook it off, turning back and wandering along once more. He licked his lips, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

If he was broken now, he did not think he could fracture any further than he already was. So, when he thought about it, this thing with Yami could either help them or simply leave them in the same place they were already in.

Yugi did not think it would be a failure. He just thought that it would take time. It would be more stressful than he assumed it might be potentially successful at first. There was more to the idea of failure than there was to success. There was so much more to it all. His stomach twisted and his heart was in his throat for a moment.

It would work.

He knew somewhere  _deep_  in his gut that all of it would work.

It would work out eventually.

His plan.

Yami's plan.

Both of them would work.

It was more a question of which one would be the one to work out first.

* * *

He glanced over from his chemistry book, balancing it in front of him on the bed. Yami was flipping cards and laying them out before him on the desk. Several times Yugi swore he heard him talking. He was either whispering or thinking a little loudly. It was just enough for the ideas to slip into his head. But every time he looked, Yami was absorbed in his little game.

He did not know what he was playing, if he even  _was_ playing a game. But it was more interesting to look at him than his chemistry book and the notes that lay around him. If it wasn't the weekend his mom would have him seated in his desk all afternoon working on his study guides—and Yami would be long gone, he supposed. Thankfully, however, he was now able to relax where he lay across his bed on his stomach with the book in front of him.

It was flipped to that page that he knew he should have been paying attention to. But it was so boring that he could not keep his focus. It was driving him crazy to sit there, looking at study guides that held none of his interest, with Yami seated just inches away.

But there was a small hint of contentment in the air. And Yugi was well aware that it came from the red-eyed teen. He himself was far too frustrated with the words on the pages and felt as if he were slowly losing his mind. But Yami sat there, simply flipping cards around, occasionally sorting through them and moving them in different directions before putting them back in a deck. He'd shuffle, then start the process all over again.

Yugi vaguely wondered if he was once again thinking about the feeling of the smooth cards against his fingers. They were still so new, and the crispness of them had not worn off from use. But asking meant running the risk of breaking Yami out of that little bubble of peace he had found himself in.

And, with how tense the other boy usually was, Yugi could not find it in himself to do so to him. He was always on such high alert and it made them both so angry and confused. And now Yami was so content and at peace and Yugi could almost feel his heart warm even around his irritation at his worksheets.

He shook his head and turned back to the page. He had been staring at it blankly for the last twenty minutes as it was. Nothing was going to make any of it more interesting or give him the ability to pay it proper attention. And, by the gods, if the subject wasn't the dullest thing he'd ever—

Moving in the corner of his eye made his head snap in its direction. Yami was putting a card down again. But his fingers seemed to almost hesitate. The slight pause made Yugi sit up, stiffening as he wondered if something was wrong. His eyes quickly scanned the collection of cards in front of the other boy, heart in his throat. But there was nothing there. There was no reason for his hesitation.

And after all of the mindless irritation he'd been projecting before, he doubted he had done another to disrupt him now.

So Yugi looked over the formation of the cards again, more curious to decipher what game he might be playing than to see if he could find his reason of pause. But the other teen had no discernible method to the cards he put down. He was arranging them in a certain way, however. Sometimes it with two or more, but never more than three…

"Okay, what the  _hell_ are you doing?" Yugi finally asked, flustered as he pushed his book away. He sat up fully, his back popping from how long he'd been leaned over. He grunted, rubbing at it, and then tilted his head as he looked the cards over again. Yami did not glance at him. Yugi licked his lips, furrowing his brows. What was he doing? Was it some kind of game he had never played? He liked to think he played a lot of games, but of course there was always the chance—

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I like the colors."

His excitement of the possibility of learning a new game died immediately. Yugi pursed his lips, insides tingling for a moment. Then he sighed softly and something cold and slimy slid up the back of his throat with disappointment.

"Oh."

"So sorry to disappoint," Yami snorted. His lips pulled into a smirk and Yugi heard the softest of chuckles, his blood warming at the sound of it.

" _Liar_ ," he scoffed, teasing as he rolled his eyes. He fought away a smile and tilted his head. "You're not sorry at all."

"No, I am not. Your expression was worth it."

"Oh well, isn't that just nice?" he drawled dismissively. He ran a hand through his hair and his eyes flickered towards the papers again. Then he looked sideways at the deity and back again. "I don't suppose you—?"

"No."

_Way to shut someone down_ , the smaller teen thought with a huff. He couldn't even try the "You don't know what I was going to say" statement either. Of course Yami knew. He was somewhere in his head, listening to his thoughts. He didn't even try to  _attempt_ at hiding it.

"You're an ass."

Yami didn't look up but he could hear the grin in his voice. He sniffed and placed another card down, tapping a nail as a smirk formed on his face. "Aren't I? It must be so burdensome," he drawled, the words making the other falter with wide eyes. "I assume it would be so much easier if you were to just—"

" _Fuck_.  _No_." Yugi turned to him fully now, about to follow it with a further quip. But his words died on his tongue as he burst out laughing. Yami's entire expression had fallen into one of petulance. His eyes were narrowed, his lips pursed in frustration. He snorted loudly in response to his guffaws and Yugi grinned at him. He shook his head and had the impulse to reach out and touch him. "That's not happening."

"Right. I should assume that you have your little concubines for that," Yami spat in a resentful tone. His eyes were burning when they shot to his for a moment, clear and dark with hatred, marred with open anger and disgust. Then his head turned abruptly back to his cards.

"What the hell are you even…?" Yugi muttered, shaking his head after a moment in confusion. He couldn't wrap his mind around what the other meant, and his eyes narrowed in his daze. He struggled with the concept, staring at Yami in brief bewilderment as his anger came rushing forth at the other's dismissal. "I don't have concubines. What are you even—? Goddamn it, Yami, talk to me for a second, would you?"

"The  _brunettes_ ," he hissed, a snide little sneer of a remark that made his voice sound as if he had snakes echoing the words. He flicked his tongue at him, mocking the idea, and Yugi blinked in shock. Then the deity's lips curled back to bare his teeth, his eyes flashing even where his lashes cut through his gaze, glaring at the cards. "The blind one and the one from the arcade."

"Serenity and Tea? They're friends—"

"You love the blue-eyed one."

Yugi halted, surprised by the statement. He frowned, shaking his head after a moment. "…Not…not  _quite_ …love," he admitted after a long moment. His own bewilderment held him back from speaking further for a moment. He opened and closed his mouth again, blinking stupidly. The other boy did not so much as glance at him. His stomach turned. "It's…not exactly love. It's more…yes, okay, I love her  _as a friend_. And sometimes I  _wish_ we were… _more_ , but it's not as if I…I need her to… _breathe_ or love her as in…I want to be with her forever or something like that."

Yami's eyes narrowed minutely. His head tilted slightly. His teeth glinted for a moment before his mouth relaxed. "Is there  _truly_ a difference, Yugi?" he drawled skeptically, the edges of his words guttural with something like pure disdain. "You lust for her."

"I…N-not really. I…" Yugi trailed off for a moment, still bewildered by the direction of the conversation. He shook his head, but a pang of sympathy and slight disbelief came through him. He smiled slightly, eyes soft, and shook his head again.

Yami was so angry about things. He was getting riled up over something that he didn't know anything about. And he had no idea how to deal with it but to lash out. Yugi could see it. He understood it perfectly and it made him smile wider.

"It's a crush. Everyone gets them at some point. And, as far as 'lusting for her' goes, I don't think so," he replied, making his voice soft and gentle. But he wondered if it was patronizing for the god to hear that tone and his stomach churned with bewilderment. "I've never exactly…had one of those moments where I thought she was incredibly hot and I just  _had_ to be with her or anything like that…"

The two of them avoided eye contact for a long moment. Then Yami finally looked up. His head snapped around, furious. And his jaws parted in a snarl. The force of his movement caused his neck to snap. His shoulders were rising slightly.

"And what about the blind one… _Serenity_?"

Yugi laughed at him, unable to stop. He'd spat her name out as if it were toxic and the idea was mystifying and somehow adorable to him. He felt bad for doing it, but he could not stop himself.

"First of all, Yami, Serenity is Joey's little sister. She has an admiration crush on me. Second, she's too young for me. Third, Joey is my best friend and his sister is  _off_ limits," the small teen said with a shrug, smiling at him. But he could feel him digging through his thoughts, trying to find earlier threads of a lie Yugi knew didn't exist. When he seemed slightly satisfied, though somewhat irritated by his phrasing of her being too young for him, the iciness began to recede again. "And, as for Tea, I don't even know that she likes me back. I know that Joey and Tristan tease me a lot about it, but I seriously don't think she does."

Yami was doubtful of that, so much so that his voice was laden with sarcasm as he drawled, "Why not?"

He nearly snickered. "Just…well…because. We've been friends forever." He struggled, unable to think of the right way to phrase the words. What did Yami understand? What did Yami actually know? He couldn't entirely discount that he was jealous, but there seemed to be something  _more_ to it than just simply that. "It would be… _awkward_ to go from that to being a couple."

"Why?"

In his own mind it was very simple. There were not steps, there just  _was_. Perhaps that was the wrong mentality. Surely Yugi had displayed that in his own refusal to simply sleep with him. And what more was there to it than lying on his back? Yami could have spat at him in his growing annoyance and bewilderment.

There were not steps.

There simply  _was_.

Just as there  _was_ Yugi and there  _was_ energy.

And there  _was_ need.

As far as he was concerned, things were very simplistic in their molding. Yugi was going to eventually see that. Because Yami, in all his time here, had become sure of nothing else beyond this and the arrogance of which humans displayed so regularly.

Regardless of anything Yugi might use in disagreement, Yami was  _sure of it_.

"Because it's a different kind of…"

Yugi trailed off, unsure of what more to say. He looked him over, but the other boy just seemed more confused and slightly flustered. There were thoughts forming behind his eyes, rapidly being sorted through, quickly pushed aside and forward and tossed about in his mind. He smiled faintly at the sight of his furrowed brows and tilted head, the grimace which claimed his lips.

Yami was not as furious as he had been moments ago. But there was still something dark and uneasy and  _aggressive_ in him. But he also was not about to sneer at him again. And he was waiting for his explanation. Because, despite himself, something inside of him was curious and willing to listen to him fumble about with his explanation.

"There are a  _bunch_ of different types of love, Yami. And there are some that just have to remain the way they are and never change. It's just something that happens."

But nothing  _just_ happened.

Of that Yami was sure as well.

And so Yugi's explanation seemed childish and naïve and pathetic.

"You are all a bunch of fucking complications," he breathed out, snarling as he chomped his teeth. It was all so  _simple_ and yet humans  _estranged_ and  _elongated_ and  _morphed_ and  _destroyed_ this very concept. How they had survived for so long amazed him. He was breathing raggedly for a moment, exhales coming in brilliant bursts from his lungs. He felt almost dizzy with his mounting hatred. "Never mind your explanation. I am done listening."  
Yugi burst out laughing, shaking his head and raising a brow. For a moment he could feel only his anger, the sparks of frustration and rage which seemed to fly from him. Then he could catch the barest of licks of amusement between it all.

They were sitting on the floor an hour or two later. Yugi had separated the deck between them, preparing to teach him the game of War. But Yami had seemed to pick up on them by mere chance. He did, however, occasionally, seem to falter on what he was meant to do as if he had forgotten. Despite the simple explanation, the ease of the game, the deity seemed incredibly broad in his shortcomings at the moment. He was…extremely distracted.

And Yugi hated that for some reason he couldn't name.

But when he wanted to talk, he felt the other might lash out. And Yami would not come closer to him than a few inches. He kept that space because of the Puzzle resting on the nightstand. And Yugi didn't want to try to coax him closer, because it was all still vivid inn his mind how badly Yami had been wounded.

His first thought was to toss it aside. Then he could move closer and see what Yami might do in response. He knew he wouldn't fight him—at least not for the moment—but he wondered if perhaps he might grow frustrated and lash out verbally until he was forced away.

But then the idea was gone again, replaced with another.

"I need to ask you something."

Yami stayed silent for a long minute. He blinked, narrowing his eyes, and then slowly raised his head. " _Well_?" he spat after a moment, voice edged with impatience, and Yugi blinked wide eyes at his frustration. He hadn't realized he was simply waiting for him to continue like that. The thought was frustrating, and he hated that it seemed only to come from that the fact that he had so clearly missed his cue.

He bit his lip, swallowing thickly. "You said that you…" He paused, lowering his eyes. "You said that you were inside of the Puzzle?"

"Yes."

"But you also said that you're a god."

Yami seemed to purr for a moment at the proper use of his title, but the smaller teen couldn't allow his short-lived contentment to distract him.

"I guess I just don't understand. How could you be inside of the Puzzle if you were…? Explain this to me— _please_ —because it's starting to hurt not knowing…"

"Insatiable curiosity will do that to you," Yami sniped coldly. He turned away and looked towards the wall, perhaps the storage unit over Yugi's shoulder. But his eyes were flashing darkly and his lips were twitching in the beginnings of a snarl. Yugi finally looked towards the direction of the other's gaze, at the slope of the walls, and his heart lurched.

Yami would probably never grow past the sensation of being smothered and the walls closing in on him. It hurt to think that as he turned back. The room was too small for him. It seemed as if the very angle made him want to lash out. And he was always conscious of it.

"I do not remember everything. I remember the barest pieces and vaguest of senses. But some of them bleed together. And they become inseparable when they do. I cannot focus on them because of this." He hummed and reached up to scratch at his jaw, his nails leaving long rows of raw reddened skin. "But I have the general concept that the Puzzle was at one point or another  _mine_. It was a gateway to something—this world or perhaps the Shadow Realm or something else—but I cannot remember what."

Yugi licked his lips, unsure of what to make of the statement. "But you said you were inside of it—"

"Yes,  _yes_ , I said that. I told you that I was inside of that fucking Puzzle. For the last  _eight years_ I have been caught between the holds of that Item as you so foolishly struggled to bring it to completion and  _my true world_ ," Yami spat in clear disdain. But there was something distressed in his eyes and Yugi felt his heart skipping beats at the sight of it. "In  _my_ world, I was revered as a god. I do not know why. I do not what made it so. I simply know that I was. And that is what I  _am_. Many of the people…or creatures…whatever it was which existed there…They would bleed away and disappear. One day they might exist. The next they would seemingly… _melt_. Their skin would peel away from their bodies. They would disappear within the darkness. Eventually I was the  _only one left_."

Yami opened his mouth to say something further. But his eyes flashed and recognition seemed to appear there. Then they dulled and something cloudy curtained them as he blinked and looked at Yugi for a long moment. His mouth closed again and he worked at the inside of his cheek, his fingers momentarily curling into the flesh of his chin. His nails dug until small globes of blood appeared at the tips. Then he pulled it away and considered him hard.

There was a disconnect, Yugi realized. Something in his brain was translating his memories wrong. Or perhaps he could not truly articulate what had occurred back in that vague awareness he called his memories. But the images did not do well to give Yugi a true concept.

Mostly he saw dead skin, falling away in flakes and globs. And blood would dribble away. Then darkness, small ribbons of it, would come forward in a swarm. And it would drift through the rotten holes in what appeared to be corpses of various shapes and sizes. Not all of them were human and some of them even seemed to look like the monsters formed from various nightmares.

Yugi felt his stomach knotting and pulsing with pain. His heart was beating too quickly. He was going to vomit if Yami didn't release him from those thoughts. His cheeks had grown a very slight green, skin pale. The deity smirked at him, eyes glinting, and slowly he withdrew the images from Yugi's thoughts.

"That day in the park, when I tore your card." He nodded at him, a slow movement that helped to bring focus back to Yugi's senses. The pictures were long gone but their effects still made him feel dizzy, horrified, slightly sickened. The smaller boy's eyes flashed brilliantly, and where Yami had assumed it to be with frustration or hatred, there was only pain and sorrow to greet him.

He blinked at him, tilting his head only slightly. It must have been the loss of the card which brought forth such emotions. Yami had not allowed him to remain in the clutches of his world for too long. And he doubted that Yugi could recall physical pain. But it was gone in an instead. Yugi began to chew on his lip, his expression oddly encouraging, and the taller boy narrowed his eyes distastefully.

"I took you to that place. I took you to my world—the one which the Puzzle dragged me out of."

He was frozen for a moment, lungs tight, and his breath came out soft and gentle. "That place…was extremely painful, Yami. I don't see why you would want to go back."

Yami stayed silent for a long minute. How was he to explain the concept of bliss that came with such simplicity? Humans overextended themselves and destroyed such concepts. It was hard to put into words the things he could withdraw from that world which he could not within this one. And to make Yugi understand was a matter that he did not know how to approach.

But, by the gods, if he could return…

Yugi was staring at him. Yami watched him, eyes blank, studying him and awaiting the words to form a proper response. What was there truly? What could he say that would not come off as false as it felt where it curled in his lungs? But a new realization crept upon them both as one, sharp and brutal as it bore down onto their consciences.

Yami did not wish to go back. He did not wish to return. He would not find his way there. It would be impossible for such a state of unawareness to come back to him.

But, should he go back, it would be by his own hand. This world could not contain him, just as the other had failed. The problem was more that he did not know how he was meant to force his way back or find peace here within this one.

But, mostly, what Yugi perceived at the moment, was that Yami was angry. And he was embittered. He did not want a repeat of the incident which had brought him there. He was still hateful that Yugi had brought him to a world that he did not understand, where it was a possibility that he might bleed and be killed…

"I did not know how to use my own lungs for the first three days," Yami stated abruptly. His voice was icy and his thoughts far away, his eyes glazed over. He shifted away from him and leaned back against the cool edge of the metal desk, only a few inches from the chair's leg. He peered at him now, through lidded eyes, expression somewhat cold. "My heart did not work. It would start. And it would fail seconds later. It would not beat without conscious thought and force. I had to  _will_ it to retain such a consistency. I did not know how to use my lungs at first. And then, when I would think I was dying, the Puzzle would draw me away again. I do not bare hatred towards this world unjustly. And I do not regard the Puzzle with disdain without regard."

Yugi was dizzy with this information, shaking his head slightly as he opened and closed his mouth, too shocked to form proper words.

Yami eyed him, cold and distant, his gaze that of frost and disregard. "You did not wear it much upon completing it."

His heart was in his throat. "It…it didn't feel right if Grandpa couldn't see it when I finished it. I wanted the first time I wore it to be when he was home. And he came back for a couple of days after I finished it. And then…y-you showed up at the arcade…"

His smile was shark-like, gleaming white fangs and dark red gums like fresh blood. It made Yugi quake for a brief moment. "Yes, I had come to the conclusion of killing you for dragging me within this godsforsaken dwelling of a world. I was feral and I was furious. Everything was distorted and broken and many times I could not see or hear properly. My mind was more shattered than I can describe to you. And I knew you by the aura you gave off." He paused and that smile grew wider, the edges pulling farther apart. Yugi thought of his reflection for a moment and his stomach clenched. "I could feel it when you worked on it. I could feel it when you laid your grubby paws on it. I knew the moment it began to tug at my conscience. And I was going to end your pitiful life with a million witnesses to see and know of the punishment. I stepped into the arcade from the back, but then…"

When he fell silent, Yugi felt a new realization come through him. "The vision thing," he whispered, startled when Yami tilted his head in acknowledgment and waited for him to continue. He laughed breathlessly, shaking his head as he shivered. "If it wasn't the vision thing, then I think I'm going to flip out."

He didn't blink. "…What did you happen to see?"

"Dark colors and sharp lines. Like everyone was a sketch and inverted and…stuff. What about you? What did you see?"

Yami sneered at him for a moment, then relaxed again, closing his eyes halfway. "Bright colors and soft lines. Some of it was more vibrant than others. Sometimes things became the consistency of a cotton ball at the edges. Sometimes they bled into each other. But it was enjoyable for the moment that it lasted." He shrugged and watched him through slits of gleaming red. "It was not painful. It was the first thing I experienced that did not hurt. And for that moment I did not hate you or myself or anything that had happened to me."

He swallowed hard, unable to fully think of a response. Then he shook his head, heart aching at the words, and his stomach churned more furiously. He wished he could have been there, that he could have helped him. Maybe if he had been there when Yami had come…

He could feel tears pricking in his eyes, a knot forming in his throat. He looked away. "Why do you look like me?" he asked, trying to force his mind away from the thought of suffering Yami had gone through. How could he have been so oblivious to all of his pain like that? How was that even possible?

"Why?" Yami echoed. "You don't understand why I look like you?"

"Well…no…n-not really. I really have no idea…"

Yami snorted loudly, sneering, "Then you shall have to find your own conclusion. It should not be too terribly hard for you."

Yugi blinked, unsure of whether he was complimenting him or simply spitting at him in anger. "No, wait…why can't you just tell me?" he pleaded.

"Where would the fun in that? I wish to watch you squirm."

Yugi wanted to snap at him in annoyance, to bite and scratch at him until Yami finally answered him. But the moment passed almost immediately. Yami was lashing out again because he felt more vulnerable than ever.

And when would the pain stop?

Yugi swallowed hard. "Okay, fine. I'll figure it out and then I'll rub it in your face when I do."

"If you rub something on my face, I will fucking castrate you," Yami spat, baring his teeth and glaring at him. The other teen blinked, horrified for a moment, and then sighed and shook his head.

Yami didn't understand the phrase.

Yugi nearly clapped his hands at himself, feeling brilliant.


	14. Chapter XIV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: Cursing should be relatively mild but sometimes grows a little more at times, Season 0 Yami...and he's a little more unhinged than usual, so keep that in mind.  
> Note: There are mentions of blood, some graphic images of death, sensual moments and feelings, touches of violence/abuse  
> Update Schedule: I'm going to try for biweekly updates on here and edits on ff since it's already posted there.  
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer’s block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it is appreciated. Please and thank you.  
> SO SORRY! I am terrible and suck and I feel really bad for not getting to this chapter before now! But I only recently really found the time to edit the largest chunks of it and it was driving me nuts not getting it finished. I think I SHOULD be able to get chapter fifteen up without much incident but the last chapter is another story altogether. THAT one is quite a bit longer than chapter fifteen if I remember right...  
> Okay, so same warning applies as before. Yugi and Yami might give the illusion of coming together but they're really not. In all actuality, nothing has really changed between them as visibly as it seems (something that you will find out more about in the sequel when I finally get to posting it on here too). Yami adapts more than he does accept things, so keep that in mind as you continue reading.

Chapter XIV

Yugi supposed he should have known better than to think that Yami did not know that he was watching him, studying him. He should have realized that Yami knew he was trying so hard to figure out things. And he realized, flustered, that half of these things that seemed so important to him probably did not matter in the least to the red-eyed teen. But, for whatever reason, he had not thought it through.

Whenever he looked up, however, he was caught in place. Yami was staring back at him, watching him closely, and it was impossible for him to mistake the meaning behind it. He was mocking him, Yugi realized, blushing slightly, but at the same time he seemed to be snickering at his idea of study. The blatant stare he rewarded him was different from the effort he'd put into being discreet.

Once or twice the red-eyed teen had gotten up from his place on the bed and found a spot at his side at the desk. Yugi had yelped upon looking over—curse him for being so silent when he moved—and laughed awkwardly when he'd turned away. And then Yami would return to his spot on the bed again. When he would risk a glance at him, the other boy would return it with a stare that bore into his skin and made his flesh itch with nerves.

Now, the other boy was breathing against his cheek at the close proximity. And he had not budged for the last few minutes Yugi had been pretending to not notice him there. And when he finally shoved at his chest to push him away, the red-eyed teen did not so much as blink.

"Okay, okay, I'm  _sorry_!" Yugi laughed, reaching out to push him away again. But the aim was lower than usual, and he was confused when his hand touched something smooth and warm. All the other times he had simply caught his wrists, snorted, and pin them to the desk. Then he would wander off after Yugi whined at him to let go and he sneered at him to get his own hands free. The fact that he had made physical contact now made him blink and turn around in concern.

Yami was still beside him, so close that they were almost sharing the same breaths. But his eyes were far from focused on Yugi himself. Rather, they were lowered and fixated on the textbook next to his elbow. His expression was keen and thoughtful, slightly bewildered, but more curious than anything else.

For a moment he almost seemed  _enamored_ with the sight of whatever it was that his eyes had fallen upon within the book. And then, finally, the red-eyed teen blinked, glancing at him in his peripheral, and tapped lightly on the picture he'd been staring at.

Yugi looked down once more, bewildered, and then blinked in surprise. It was a shot of a wolf pack in the snow, with a massive gay alpha in the front and two black yearlings playing while their mother—a silver she-wolf with bright green eyes—trotted at her mate's side. The caption beneath the image explained that wolves were social animals, but the one beside it was that of a healthy-looking dark-furred male. It had caught an elk and had been captured mid-bite, golden eyes looking around as if in expectation of danger at every corner. The caption read that while they were social animals and lived in packs, sometimes a wolf would live on its own for years without others, considered a loner.

"This is what you said I was like before…right?" Yami asked after a moment. His voice was so quiet Yugi had to strain to hear it, despite him being so close. When the words processed in his head, he almost thought they sounded mildly hopeful and it stunned him. Slowly Yugi raised his head, blinking, and tilted his head with a slight frown. "When we spoke of control and how you did not ever wish to do so with me?"

"Yeah," he stated softly, pulling his hand away from where it was still touching the other boy's forehead. He blinked again, then glanced downwards at the pictures again with another small frown. He had never considered that the other boy might be curious about something like that. He had never formerly appeared interested in listening to him. The fact that he even remembered the conversation to begin with made him feel oddly warm. "They're…well, never mind. Maybe you can look them up some time or something."

Yami tapped a nail slowly agianst the picture of the solid black animal where it was hunched over the carcass. His teeth worked at the inside of his cheek. His fingers curled slightly. He blinked, eyes narrowing, and tilted his head. "Perhaps," he drawled in a voice that was seemingly bored though his eyes remained keen. "Or I might simply leave you here and find one for myself."

Yugi choked violently on his tongue. His mouth fell open, his eyes nearly popping out of his head, and found himself gaping sporadically for a split second. A stirring of panic bit at his insides as he shook his head rapidly. "No, no,  _don't_ do that," he managed to spit out. The tone was lethal in its edge and Yami's head snapped towards him in response. At first he looked as if he were shocked, and then he blinked and his expression became all but nonexistent.

The smaller teen caught his arm in both hands. The other boy flexed his wrist slightly, testing his grip. When his fingers tightened slightly, Yugi found himself blushing. Slowly, those red eyes dropped downwards, locking on his hands. It almost appeared not to understand why he was touching him or what part of the body it was. His lips curled back slightly, his eyes narrowing into gleaming slits. His head tilted fractionally as his expression darkened further.

"Don't do that, okay? Please—I—I'd worry about you…"

"And I should find it in me to muster up a care for this… _why_ exactly?"

"Because we're still trying things  _my_ way right now. And you're not supposed to go off and worry me,  _remember_?"

When Yami blinked, it was a long drawn out motion that became laden with frustration as they narrowed. He shook his head after a small moment. His lips curled back faintly in annoyance, and the red-eyed teen quickly tore his arm from the other's grip. "You're such a little bitch," he snorted, turning on his heel and huffing as he plopped down on the bed once more.

Yugi grinned widely and shook his head slightly. At this rate, "bitch" was becoming a term of endearment.

* * *

"Gods, school sucks."

"I do not recall ever asking."

Yugi shot him an annoyed look. He tossed his backpack towards his desk with a lazy flip of his wrist and rolled his eyes with a sigh. When he threw himself onto the mattress, the belly flop was accompanied by a harsh, "Whatever". For a long minute he could feel the red eyes, cold and calculating and curious, burning into his skin.

From the corner of his eye he could make him out where he sat on the desk chair watching him. The teen was lazy in his motion of simply sitting there, elbow propped against the metal top. For a long time he didn't move. Then, abruptly, the red-eyed teen was on his feet, the movement pushing him out of his line of vision. The suddenness of the action made Yugi nearly panic.

"Accept my sincerest apology for my lack of care. I must have forgotten where I once agreed upon being the shoulder for which you would cry," Yami sneered, moving close enough to allow him room to see him pat his shoulder in mocking sincerity. He sniffed loudly, pretending towards sympathy, and smirked with a raised brow. The smaller teen opened his mouth to tell him to shut up but wound up run over when the other continued to speak. "Oh my  _gods_ , school sucks but I  _still go_. Joey only talks about Mai anymore. You  _worry_  me. Tea is a whore—"

He hated himself when he burst out laughing at the other's mockery. His hands flew up to cover his mouth, smothering his guffaws only slightly. Yugi glared at him, wishing he could somehow reprimand him, but wound up only able to snicker that much harder. "Fuck, Yami, shut up," he grumbled, smiling too widely for the other teen to even  _consider_ taking him seriously. An elegant brow rose at his words and the other boy snorted. "She is not a—"

"Vivian played with my hair today. The redhead's name is always  _so_ questionable. Like, who even  _remembers_ her? Oh my god, Tristan and Miho are fighting over a pocket watch she wants—limited  _edition_."

Yugi shook his head with a wide smile. His eyes were glowing with mirth even as he tried to glare at him playfully. He tilted his head and raised a brow, pursing his lips. "Why would you even put emphasis on 'edition' and  _not_ 'limited'? I think you might be abusing your sarcasm, Yami."

"And I believe a cactus up your ass might do you well to help you  _grow up_."

"A—gods, Yami, a fucking  _cactus_?"

His lips quirked back slowly and his eyes twinkled deviously. "Anything is a dildo if you're brave enough."

Yugi's mouth dropped open immediately. At first he went to laugh again, but the color was draining from his face as the words truly connected in his head. Oh dear  _gods_ , Yami must have gotten his hands on his porn tapes if he actually knew that word and what it meant. Yugi knew for a fact that he had never said it around him. He had been extremely careful never to mention it. He didn't want to have something to awkwardly pile on something else and then to further explain to the other boy.

But he also had not wanted the red-eyed teen to begin to  _get ideas_.

He'd been so careful not to say or even  _think_ the word, regardless of context or whether he had been speak to Joey about something sexual. He had filtered  _every_ thought down to the second of its conception, kept track of each word that might come out of his mouth. All in order to avoid it so that Yami could not find it in his vocabulary somewhere.

His cheeks were burning now. His eyes flickered about. The air felt tight within his lungs, though they felt so tight he was not sure he was breathing anymore. He had plugged in his tiny TV the night before so that he could play video games. The thought made him smile slightly. He had been pleasantly surprised to find Yami was  _very_ interested in the concept of games. But then his eyes fell onto the VCR that rested on the top.

It was almost mocking him as he looked at it.

Some more childish and small part of him could just imagine the little machine laughing at him. The LED would be the eyes, the flap covering the mouth would constantly flip in and outwards. And then another tape might just come shooting out, a present for his companion that would further embarrass Yugi more than he thought was possible.

But he did not bother to even check it now. His eyes fell back on Yami instead. He was not someone to leave evidence like that around. He was having far too much fun messing with him at the moment to leave it around for him to find so easily.

"Correct. I did find your little stash," he chuckled, purring sultrily and smirking twice as wide. Each of his teeth was bared at him in a brilliant display of sparkling white. His eyes were smoldering in their laughter. The teen leaned against the mattress lazily once more, shifting only enough to angle his body to press a shoulder blade against the headboard as Yugi watched. "I have to say that I have found my horizons  _expanded_. I was not aware that you and your friends were so terribly…ah, what's the word?  _Kinky_? Is that it? Judging by that blush, I shall assume I am correct."

Yugi opened his mouth in protest, entire face burning so fiercely he fight it might burst into flames. But then his mouth snapped shut again as Yami continued.

"Do you ever imagine doing such things with Tea?"

"Ew. What? No. First of all, Tea is a  _proper_ girl and second, I'm pretty sure some of that has to be edited or…Oh fucking gods, I hope it is," he stated in a somewhat squeaky voice. Then he cleared his throat and rolled his eyes. He had started off somewhat strong, but had fallen into a weaker, softer whisper as the statement continued to leave his lips. His cheeks felt hotter than ever as Yami continued to stare at him with an unimpressed expression on his face.

Flushed once more, he ducked his head and hurried for his desk. It was the only place he could think Yami might hide them—considering that this was also the most likely place he had found them as well. In order to avoid having to move them and allow him the chance to notice, Yami would use Yugi's own hiding places to his advantage and laugh in mocking amusement when he grew more flustered. He knew him well enough to at least think that without a doubt.

But he was unable to stop himself from wondering if it was true. If it was real, then that was horrifying. Some of the things they did in those tapes—Yugi nearly groaned in disbelief, wanting to bang his head against the desk. But Yami was snickering and the smaller teen ducked his head in pure shame.

"What if I told you it was  _all_ natural?"

Yugi spun on him with his mouth hanging open. Then he stuttered, a strangled noise leaving his lungs before he faltered again. "You've had sex before?" he blurted out, unable to stop himself from sounding like an idiot. He blushed furiously again, but his heart had sunk and his mouth felt dry. His voice was too high with his shock and his face felt strange as his lips tugged into a grimace.

He'd been hoping that they were on even ground together on this one. If never anything else, he had been hopeful about this. But then, what god in mythology  _hadn't_ turned human and had sex before? He didn't think he knew of any beyond the virgin goddesses.

The other teen scoffed loudly. His nose wrinkled, a sneer crossing his face as he sniffed disdainfully. "You disgust me. But that look on your face was worth the comment," he stated simply, smirking widely once more and leaning forward only slightly. Yugi felt a small bit of relief crash thought him at the words. But then the left side of Yami's mouth pulled open a bit more, showing his canine, and Yugi nearly trembled as he looked at him slowly. "But I noticed something, little game. You're quite into the bondage—"

"They're all Joey's!" Yugi squeaked pathetically. He was mortified by the falsetto tone as he turned his head away again to dig through some of the papers in his search for those stupid tapes. He was breathing a little harder now. "I just borrow them sometimes…"

" _Right_." Yami shook his head and took a seat on the bed. He watched him as Yugi glanced up at the sound of the springs squeaking. The taller boy moved to draw his limbs together, cross his legs and putting his hands in his lap. His eyes were full of interest, something that made Yugi feel oddly warm inside. Was he curious about him? Had he  _finally_ somehow gotten his attention? "Because I am sure that your friend has not been attempting to find a special series of videos to cater to your desires in specific."

Yugi blinked, freezing in shock as the statement resonated in his ears. Curiously, he found himself blinking and frowning as he tilted his head in bewilderment.

"Huh?"

"You mean to have me believe that you have failed to notice?"

"Uh…notice what?"

"All of the girls on the screen—brown hair, big blue eyes, wide hips and large breasts…"

He blinked. "…A brunette?" he asked obliviously.

Now Yami got to his feet with a furious expression. His eyes sparked with hatred for the smallest of moments. Abruptly, however, his attitude began to change. A second blink allowed him to move to his side at a lazy pace. The loud exhale that left him was a gust of frustration.

His hand reached out and the bottom drawer was drawn open. Yugi watched as his slender fingers flicked away some pages of his homework to show off the shiny cover of the dark gray tapes for his inspection. Yugi sighed in clear relief, going to thank him for finally showing him where they were and putting him out of his misery.

But then Yami leaned forward, his lips drawn back, his breath hot on his skin.

" _Tea_ ," he purred sultrily into his ear.

The word made Yugi freeze. Then he blinked, lowering his eyes back to the tapes. Realization bloomed in his thoughts and his eyes flickered back once more to Yami. The other merely watched him, eyes sharp and cold. Yugi's eyes widened as realization truly dawned on him, spearing his insides now. He blinked, then groaned and pressed his forehead against the desk.

"Oh my god," he whispered pathetically. He pushed the drawer shut with his foot, shaking his head slowly. A whine bubbled up before he could stop himself. "Oh my fucking  _god_."

"You are not the brightest bulb to be found, are you, Yugi?" the red-eyed teen growled into his ear. His smirk was wide but his eyes were dark, flashing violently. Yugi turned his head, watching him for a moment. The expression on Yami's face grew tenfold, an almost sinister smirk as his jaw looked uncomfortably set. He looked as if he were, amazingly, trying  _not_ to snarl at him angrily. "Your little blond friend has been giving you only tapes of brunette girls with wide blue eyes. They each have the same facial structure and bodacious figures. And they all look like Tea. They even have the same haircut. The only difference is that she is as pale as a rat's  _ass_ and these girls actually seem to possess some sense of pigmentation to their skin."

Yugi snickered but shook his head. The amusement on his face was brilliant and glowing. But his unapologetic nature shone like gorgeous gems within his eyes. But there was something like hate and fury within his gaze. The expression should have scared him, but Yugi could not help but laugh harder.

Was he  _jealous_?

"Jealous? You foolish little human. Fuck you. What is jealousy to a god? It is a human emotion. Besides, what should there be for  _me_ to show jealousy over, Yugi? You know as well as I that you could never have any chance with those girls which so frequent your mind. You are a foolish little game."

"Except that, according to you, I  _do_ have a chance with them." Yugi smirked in amusement and almost reached out to poke him in the chest. But the way his jaw twitched made him swallow back such an impulse. "Because Tea looks like all of them… _right_?"

Yami's shoulders rose a small fraction. His entire body was stiff with anger. He looked almost ready to lash out at him. Yugi could see the impulse in his dark eyes. But it did not stop him from licking his lips as the red-eyed teen leaned forward so that their faces were level as he sneered, "She's a prude. You would never be able to convince her to drop her panties for  _you_ " in a low, smooth, scornful tone.

"Probably not," Yugi agreed after a moment, not truly caring for the idea in the first place. He didn't care for correcting him about the derogative term either. Instead, their eyes remained locked, red clashing with blue-violet. "She's not nearly as desperate to get in my pants as say…a certain red-eyed boy who goes by the name of Yami."

" _Desperate_?" Yami scoffed with a mocking laugh, bitter and furious. But Yugi could see the smallest sense of realization and weakness in his eyes even as the other boy tried his hardest to hide it. His lips curled back as he looked at him. "For sex with  _you_? Someone as small and inconsequential as  _you_? No. don't give yourself so much of an ego, little game. I am desperate for the  _freedom_ that you so stupidly cheated me of. I want it and I crave it. And your body seems to be the only way that I can receive it."

" _Right_ ," Yugi stated softly, smirking slightly and shaking his head. He moved a little closer. Their noses were brushing now, Yami's cooler exhales ghosting over his skin in a way that made his heart pound furiously. He ignored the thrill that ran through him at the contact, however, and the chill of the other's body made every nerve ending in his body tingle with pleasure. "Too damn bad you will never get that, will you?"

"Your plan has already proven itself to be a failure," Yami snarled, curling his lip back and glaring at him furiously. His breathing against Yugi's lips made him shiver with pleasure once more. The red-eyed teen snarled low in his throat before shaking his head, scowling at him. "It is only a matter of time before you admit that."

"Funny. I think it's going pretty well. You aren't even cursing as much."

"I have learned how hideously amusing you find it when my voice lilts in order to form those words. I do not wish to make you laugh. I want to make you writhe beneath me so that I can leave here without feeling inexplicably,  _pathetically_ drawn to you any longer."

"Cute, but we both know you're just desperate for some fun time with me."

"You  _disgust_ me."

"Yeah, so you say."

"I hate you."

"Mm _hmm_."

"I wish I could kill you."

Yugi smiled in amusement, licking his lips as he murmured, "Oh, I know you do." He shook his head when Yami blinked in puzzlement at his slightly huskier tone. Hands reached up to grasp the back of the taller teen's head, fingers knotting in the hair at the nape of his neck. Yami stiffened and let out a snarl, startled by the suddenness of the action, and breathed roughly as if he expected him to punish him for the response. But the noise was something that made Yugi's entire being vibrate with strength and desire, his mouth watering for a moment.

The taller teen was frozen in place, eyes wide, blinking in shock. And then he paused for a moment. Yugi snuck a hand downwards, grasping the hem of the shirt tightly near where it rested over the taller teen's bellybutton. Yugi shivered at the slight pull of the fabric, bringing him forward a miniscule step until they were practically pressed together entirely.

It was nothing that Yugi would have ever called romantic. It lacked any true sense of softness, though it did not hurt in any manner. But it did not possess any of the usual aspects that such moments promoted in true relationships. It was not hard either, however, and somehow it lingered in a place between where it was firm yet loose all at once. Yugi turned his hips to mirror the other teen's, brushing against him without much thought to the action.

He could  _taste_ Yami's mounting impatience. He could feel it in the way he leaned forward. The action made Yugi's spine arch slightly. His long fingers danced along his spine, running his nails over his spine through his shirt. The soft moan that trickled through Yugi's lips made Yami growl low in his throat with pleasure.

The smaller teen could feel it between them with such immensity that it made his head spin. It was like gasoline and fire, waiting for a single spark, the smallest flicker of a tiny flame. His insides twisted and pushed, begging for more, for far more than he could stand to give at the moment. He knew Yami felt it as well, lurking beneath their skin, somewhere deep in their cores, begging for them to be unified and become one.

It was heavy, intoxicating even, and drew them closer than they should have been. It made Yami lean forward and Yugi arch further back. It made Yugi moan into his mouth and Yami sink his fingers into his back over the center of his curved spine. Little sparks of pleasurable pain burst forth from beneath his skin. It burned and itched, the noise becoming louder and more powerful.

Yugi was not sure whether he should be ecstatic or horrified by the release of tension in his body. The way that his skin seemed to grow warm and his consciousness circulated around the taller boy to make him his axis made his entire body quiver. He hesitated for a moment, curious, and then wondered for a split second if perhaps he should be shaken by the idea that this seemed to swallow away his choices. For the first time, he felt genuinely nauseated by his mounting doubt, leaving him slightly flustered and frustrated by it all.

Yami snarled softly into his mouth as Yugi arched his hips to press their pelvises together more firmly. He moved to lift his leg just enough to brush his knee against the other boy's hip. The friction was delicious, swallowing his senses. The taller teen moaned a little sigh, somewhere between surprise and pure bliss. Yugi whimpered pathetically in the back of his throat. He was lightheaded as the taller teen's mouth worked against his. His tongue was stroking his, so pleasurable that Yugi almost ground against him like a dog.

He shivered, wild with adrenaline. He moaned, yelping, as he abruptly lost balance. Laughter spilled into his head, Yami mocking him playfully as Yugi clipped his shoulder against the unit of drawers holding his school materials. The desk's books rattled softly, shaking gently, and Yugi tore his mouth away just enough to look up. He was breathing hard, eyes wide, and staring blankly for a moment. Yami's mouth moved to his slender throat, his lips latching to his smooth skin. But he was not sucking, licking and nipping gently instead, with such softness that he found himself shaking beneath the light touches.

Yugi gasped and gripped at his hair tighter. He tugged harshly once, making Yami snarl softly. His tongue pressed firmly against his clavicle now, tickling him as it vibrated. He tugged on his hair harder, the strands cool but somehow warm at the same time as they were held within his palm. His fingers shifted and trailed down to the nape of his soft hair, digging his nails lightly into his skin and whimpering around a lick to his erratic pulse. The muscle dragged soft and slow, slightly cold at first but rapidly warming to the point of which he felt he might melt into the touch. He moved instinctually to expose more of the pale skin, breathing raggedly and staring through lidded eyes as he arched further into his hips.

Yami pressed into his hand without thought or restraint, the action given life by mere instinct. He pushed further into his palm, welcoming the warmth. But his hands were slightly clammy as Yugi panted roughly in his ear, a whisper of a word not unlike his name escaping his lips in a husky, breathless tone. His eyelids fluttered, a whimper of approval escaping his lips, and he swallowed hard. The smaller boy's fingers tugged at his hair again, the soft strands warming slightly around the digits. He wondered somewhere in the back of his mind if Yami  _realized_ just how possessively intimate the action truly was, what he was truly doing with his own reactions.

The sense of permission being passed to him through the action made Yugi shiver and tremble.

The smaller teen was sure he should have told him to stop. But the gentle nips to his neck made him tremble and melt. And Yami's teeth were so easy as they worked at his skin. His nose pressed into the flesh beneath his jaw, just enough that it was firm and gentle all at once. He was almost drowning now. Yami's hips were grinding roughly against him. His nips had become more noticeable. And his licking was more persistent now. He alternated in rapid movements, biting so hard that Yugi pressed his nails more comfortably into his skin.

He'd closed his bright blue-violet eyes, moaning, and the noise left him so loudly that Yami snickered softly. "Hush, little game. Your mother is still home," he laughed softly into his ear, voice like trickling water and light with amusement.

Yugi opened his eyes into thin slits, looking up at him for a moment through his long lashes. He swallowed back laughter at the very idea of caring about whether his mother did or did not hear. The impulse was there to tell him that he would  _gladly_ fuck him into the mattress whether his mom decided to poke her head in or not. And that boldness in his thoughts prompted him to wonder at the question of why it was that they had not already begun to do so.

He blinked a few times, looking at him for a long moment. His lips pulled back into a wry smirk of amusement. And Yugi was abruptly aware of the thought that perhaps even Yami did have a few small limits. He tugged on his hair again gently. The taller teen pressed back into his palm almost like a purring cat awaiting more affection or a dog begging to have his belly scratched.

Somewhere, in the smallest darkest corner of his mind, Yugi thought he should stop them before it had the chance to go any further. He did not think for a moment that allowing the sexual tension between them to grow was a good idea by any means. But he wondered if it would truly be such a bad idea and part of him truly  _was_ desperate to see where it might lead.

But even Yami did not seem as if he would go any further yet. It was not a question of it, but rather a sense of knowledge that he knew for sure the red-eyed teen would divert the situation if he pushed too hard himself. For whatever reason the other boy had set boundaries—perhaps it was his agreement and their deal, perhaps it was just because he was not willing to as of yet—and Yugi was relieved.

But the disappointment came immediately afterwards, his head spinning with the fierce onslaught. Part of him was desperate to feel Yami inside of him. Another was anxious about the entire thought. And his initial reaction to the thought of his mother being there might have been disregard but now it made his entire body flare with embarrassment at the mere possibility.

The entire situation was so surreal, to the point that it almost felt as if it might have been dictated by the gods themselves. But which gods might have done that kind of thing? Was Yami included among them as well? Regardless of which gods had cast the dice, who was he to try to spurn it?

Yugi was not oblivious to the fact that, in truth, he was wrapped around the other boy in ways that could make soul mates and the purest of loves look fake. And it was devastating to know this. Because this—this was  _obsessive_ ,  _maniacal_ , and immensely  _dangerous_. It made no sense. But it was  _part of him_. It was engraved in his bones, breathed when his lungs expanded, spread when his heart beat, and flexed with his skin.

It was primal and feral and it—despite  _everything_ —was the very thing Yugi thought his entire core being existed for. It was something that he would never have formerly considered. But it was the only thing that he thought his existence truly meant for.

Even as Yugi arched beneath his touch and Yami lapped at his collarbone, it was one of the most terrifying things he had ever considered. But it was also the truest sense of reality he was able to grasp upon. Threading fingers through his hair and tipping his head to kiss the other boy when he moved from his neck towards his jaw, Yugi could feel it somewhere in his bones.

He was meant to exist  _for_ Yami. But he did not know that it was the same for Yami. It was very possible that he existed for something else entirely, that Yugi's existence was for him but he himself had higher meaning. But he had been put in this body, dragged from his own world and into the Puzzle,  _to Yugi_ , for a reason beyond his understanding.

Dictated by the gods…

Yugi was panting, writhing, and breathless.

Yami had stilled, breathing heavily and with hooded red eyes that looked almost entirely black from his blown pupils.

They locked eyes for a moment. Yugi gave him a breathless little smile. Yami blinked, eyed him for a moment longer, and then smirked at him with a little glint of smug laughter in his gaze.

Dictated by the gods, truly…

But which ones?

* * *

"The Millennium Puzzle is known as the Puzzle of the gods," Yugi remembered his grandpa telling him once when he was nine. He tapped his pencil hard against the desk, closing his eyes tightly as he thought it over more completely. The statement resonated in his head, branded in his thoughts, and Yugi licked his lips. It was the year that he had first begun to truly play with the pieces, when he had been all but unable to put it away for even a second. He had spent  _years_  looking at it, keeping it safe in his room, treating it as a treasure. And the next year, as the Puzzle had continued to elude him, he'd tried his hardest to familiarize himself with the pieces… "It was supposed to have been given to the pharaohs throughout the ages, but I can't find stories with it in it. Aside from being found in the tomb like it was, there isn't really much to be said about it in ancient Egypt."

 _Whose tomb_?

If he could perhaps figure that out, did that mean he could find the truth of Yami's identity and purpose? Would that allow him to know his reason of being dragged through to him from that other world? Or was that impossible now? Was it simply a dream that could not be chased?

Even if it was, Yugi still wanted— _needed_ —to know if Yami was a god as he continued to claim. Revered like a god or not, it was clear that Yami had to have power to do half of the things he was able to. It was not human to be able to do those things. But he insisted that he was nothing of a mere shadow like Yugi had originally labeled him.

And that certainty was something that Yugi himself was not ready to challenge. He did not think he was truthfully capable of challenging it outright as Yami seemed to so constantly bait him.

Yami certainly held himself like one, regal and proud, but his arrogance made him somewhat questionable. His will to spill blood so easily and without second thought countered such an argument, however. Most gods in mythology were well-known for their terrible punishments and favoritisms of wars to be fought. They were known for their pettiness and competitions that were hideous for those who partook in them. There were the Greek, the Roman, and he was almost certain the Egyptian gods fell into that same category as well. He knew of Horus, Set and Osiris, but beyond that, his knowledge of Egyptian mythology was severely limited.

But it could have been possible that Yami was simply a victim of circumstance. He might not have even been Egyptian for all Yugi knew. Hell, what if he really, truly  _was not_ human? If he should truly be a god, what the fuck did that make  _him_? He had technically all but captured him in the Puzzle while putting it together. He had drawn him into this world, had he not?

And he had nearly died several times, hadn't he? And yet he had still managed to somehow pull himself from the very grasp of death. And now he was trapped in a human vessel that was…oddly so much like Yugi's own.

And Yami refused to tell him  _why_ that was.

Every time he asked, he was given the answer "Figure it out for yourself, Yugi. By the gods, are you so incompetent that you cannot find answers to such simple inquiries?"

After he had given him that same response word for word the entire two weeks he'd thought to ask, Yugi had given up even the attempt to talk to him about it. Instead he had begun to focus rather obsessively on it in his spare time or during lunch. With all of the loose ends that seemed to cut through his knowledge of the other boy, he could not think of anything more than finding answers. Even while amongst his friends, Yugi had found himself unable to put it away to enjoy time with them at the arcade like they were now.

"You really thought Yugi and I were having fun times under the sheets?" Mai snorted, laughing and glancing at the small teen.

Yugi was barely paying even the slightest hint of attention to their conversation. The noise simply filtered in through one ear and drifted out the other without much recognition of any kind. He was still horribly preoccupied with his little "god" while playing with the controls on the game in front of him. His fingers were red from gripping the controllers so hard and the joystick was far too sweaty to be comfortable.

"Oh my god, Joey, Yugi is my cousin!"

His name used this time was enough to make him glance over in mild interest. He watched his blond best friend spit soda across the floor. It seemed almost to reach far enough to hit a girl several feet away from them and Yugi blinked in surprise. Tristan choked on a handful of popcorn that he had been digging into in the bag he had purchased minutes before. Tea was frozen in place near his shoulder, her bright blue eyes wide as she stared at the two cousins for a split second.

It occurred to Yugi that she had never known that either. And he realized that perhaps his behavior with Mai might easily be seen as too comfortable and playful to be friendly in a sense. It made him nervous to meet her eyes for a moment. Then he looked quickly away again.

Mai wrapped her arms around his shoulders, squeezing once gently, but Yugi merely gave them a distracted smile. His momentary sympathy for the brunette had been shunned and pushed aside once more in favor of more complicated thoughts of Yami.

"My  _baby_ cousin and you thought we were screwing," the blond laughed. Her delight should have been infectious—Yugi would have laughed formerly—but he was too caught in his own thoughts to care much for it. But she was having the time of her life dealing with the reactions she had gotten from the group.

None of them had realized that they were family due to their somewhat strained relationship. Yugi did not regularly spend time with her, but he spoke to her often on the phone, in which case they spilled a lot of things between them. But he was guilty of all but avoiding her when they were at school and she did very much the same. And, outside of it, their circle of friends ran separate ways.

Maybe he would have assumed it would be a good laugh for him another time. But now— _now_ , Yugi felt something almost akin a splash of ice sweeping through his insides.

The small teen stiffened. The ice crept along the inside of his skull, cooling his brain as if power were flooding through him. Stabs at his subconscious made him freeze in place. Yugi blinked again, recognizing the sense of emotion behind it as questioning but openly aggressive now as well.

"Yami?" he muttered under his breath. He looked around, sitting up straighter. His head snapped to his left in response to a movement and, as he looked about, his eyes fell upon Joey. He offered him the softest, swiftest of apologies when he threatened to give him a wedgie for not telling him. Yugi did not bother to answer him beyond this, as Mai jumped to his defense around laughter. In the corner of his eye, Tea looked surprisingly relieved, and Tristan chuckled awkwardly at the revelation.

Yugi did not understand what was honestly so surprising about the statement in all actuality. Mai was a lot taller, but she was also  _two years older_. They shared the same forelock within their bangs, and they had the same exotic violet shade to their eyes. They both shared that same straight posture that they fell into so automatically. His might have been only when he was threatened and knew he could win against Yami, and hers may have been far more natural, but Yugi would not fail to point this out should someone have asked. He honestly did not know what was so surprising to them.

 _Yami_?

He could feel him but he could not see him.

And that made this all the more distressing.

He was used to seeing him almost immediately upon sensing him nearby.

Yugi sat up straighter, his eyes flashing hurriedly throughout the group of other people within the arcade. There was not the slightest sense of recognition to come over him as it might have the moment he looked at him. He did not catch a glimpse of lively red eyes in any manner. He did not see spiky black hair with fiery tips. He could not find his thin frame among so many others.

Yugi twisted around with such speed that he nearly toppled over. Mai jerked as she kept her arm around his shoulders. She nearly fell from the movement, tossed forward with the action, but somehow he managed to maintain her balance. But Yugi hardly seemed to notice this. His eyes grew wide, his mouth drying out but his lips tugging upwards as if it might burst with the grin that claimed them. The red-eyed boy was walking through the door, merely casting a small sideways glance at Vivian and Kaoruko as they said something or other to him.

His head had tilted slightly as the redhead reached up to grab one of his bangs between her fingers and twirl it. Why he allowed her to do such a thing was beyond Yugi, but the sight of it made his stomach clench for a moment. His look-alike had begun to nod, however, a small and dismissive action, and his red eyes glittered fiercely for a moment.

The fluorescent light made his skin entirely too pale, his eyes almost like peaks of painted glass framed by long and spidery lashes like immense storm clouds. He tilted his head again in the other direction as Yugi watched. Vivian said something with a sultry grin, leaning forward and whispering, her plump red lips curling slightly more. Her eyes were glittering, almost like onyx against the light.

Very slowly, darkly, the red-eyed teen peeled his own lips back into a wide, predatory smirk. His face twisted cruelly, his expression more cunning than inviting, his eyes flashing and dancing with something like hate and hunger. And, as he leaned forward, whispering, both of the two girls' eyes widened as if with horror. The color drained from both of their faces entirely, and Yugi thought he could see them visibly gulp as they stepped back.

They disappeared as if they were racing for the shadows, shooting rapid backward glances towards him.

The sight of their retreat made Yugi snort in avid amusement and he shook his head slightly as Yami waved after them in clear dismissal. His expression was nothing short of a hideous, furious, sneer. His lips were still pulled back, just enough to show off his brilliant white canines. His eyes were glowing with disgust and humor, and his stance seemed far more regal as he turned away to face their little group again.

Yugi had not realized formerly that the others had turned to see what had gathered his attention so solely. Each of them was wide-eyed, confused, and their expressions were full of shock upon seeing his look-alike there. All of them faced Yami as if they were a pack of animals watching a human approach.

He thought—unbidden, shockingly—that perhaps this was what it meant to look like when humans should stare upon a deity given flesh.

"Dude, isn't that…?"

Yugi glanced sideways towards Joey. The frown on his face was more unnerved than unhappy as he threw himself off of his stool. He slipped out of Mai's loosened grip without effort, not bothering to grace them with a look as he started forward. "Yeah, uh, I asked him to come here," Yugi breathed out quietly, licking his lips and biting his cheek uncomfortably. "I needed to talk to him about something."

He was lying, but desperately he hoped that it did not show on his face. The red-eyed teen did not so much as blink at them. Their presence there did nothing for him. But it rattled Yugi to see him there, watching so keenly.

He was about to get a few feet away from them when his arm was abruptly grasped in a vice grip. Yugi squirmed, panicked for a split second, and his stomach dropped violently as he stared. His mouth was growing dry, his heart beginning to race as his throat seemed to fill with blood. He squirmed again.

His head tilted, eyes sharpening, as Yami continued his slow approach. The look in his eyes said clearly not to react to Joey's action. The other boy still did not blink, red eyes flickering towards Joey and then back again. And Yugi quickly turned to face his best friend with a frown.

"Please let go—"

"No. I can't let my best buddy go over there and have that monster—"

"Do  _not_  call him that!" he spat long before he could properly think it through. The response was so automatic that he did not even pause as he glared at his friend angrily. Joey cast him a shocked look, then shook his head angrily and narrowed his eyes, noticeably irritable upon hearing his rebuttal. "Seriously, Yami isn't going to hurt me, Joey. Just…just give me a few minutes alone with him, okay? I just want to talk to him."

The air had become cold and harsh when the red-eyed teen got within ten feet of the group. His gaze was sharp and glittering, glacial like peaks of bloodied ice. Joey froze but his head snapped towards him, his eyes widening before they narrowed angrily, his jaw clenching with the frustration he put into his glare. Tristan shifted awkwardly, ducking his head almost immediately, and his eyes darted towards the floor like those of a scared animal facing a powerful predator. Tea sat straighter, eyes wide and bewildered but wild with fear, staring at the newcomer as if he might be able to see completely through him.

Mai stared at him with a confused, startled, horrified expression. It was unnerving to witness the others' reactions to him and she could only truly focus on the way Joey's hand clenched harder around her cousin's arm. The skin had turned bright white under his grip, squeezing until some of the flesh beyond it had turned red, and the sight of it nearly made her wince. But it was clear Yugi was fighting not to do the same thing. His blue-violet eyes were littered with pain, but more notably with the plea that Yami not react in any manner.

Yami raised a brow very slowly, in a sense of challenge so direct, that no one could truly ignore it. Yugi's eyes grew wide, almost owlish, and his breath caught in his lungs as he remained frozen in place in front of him. He twisted, stumbling, and nearly spun with the force it took to simply pull himself out of Joey's grip.

Then Yugi hurried forward to push at Yami's chest. He hoped that, somehow, in some way, the red-eyed boy might back away or perhaps lose the tension in his muscles in some sense. Thankfully his reaction made his attention fall on him, peeling away from the blond completely. His eyes peered at him intensely as if he were insane to even so much as attempt to do so. But eventually the other very slowly backed up a step as Yugi had wished.

"Five minutes."

"Twenty at  _least_ ," Yami drawled. A snicker had crept into his voice, teasing Yugi's senses as the smaller boy shook his head and rolled his eyes. He did not remove his hands from the other boy's shoulders, however, and his expression remained somewhat frantic despite the calm that seemed to radiate from the red-eyed teen.

"Five—"

"Twenty."

"Ten."

"Twenty."

"Do you not know how to negotiate?"

"Nonnegotiable. Twenty minutes."

"Goddamn it, Yami," he cursed under his breath. But the both of them heard and recognized—appreciated, even—the laughter that lay there. Yugi grabbed his arm gently, leading him along towards the door again, and the other boy allowed him to with a lazy pace a step behind him. His eyes wandered and flickered about, dancing beneath the fluorescents when Yugi glanced at him sideways.

But he could hear the blonde girl—Yugi's cousin, whatever bearing that had on anything—muttering under her breath that he was hot. And he nearly howled with laughter upon hearing the brown-haired boy awkwardly point out the obvious resemblance between Yugi and the god beside him. She awkwardly cursed and fumbled to reword her statement and Yami snorted loudly through his nose.

Yami was laughing softly when they were a few feet from the doors. He snickered, smirking lopsidedly. His hand tightened briefly within Yugi's, imagining the mortified expression that might cross the bodacious blonde girl's face.

"So, what's up?" Yugi asked softly, spinning around to face him. He blinked bright blue-violet eyes that—if Yami was not mistaken—seemed somehow to appear relieved and mildly grateful in expression. His eyes were somewhat warm, something that disturbed the other boy, making his smirk fall once more, but he was more curious as he continued. "I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"I wasn't expecting to come here either," Yami admitted in a soft voice, snorting after a moment. The admittance made his insides turn. He liked being able to say he had done things in a calculated manner. He liked to say with certainty that his keen mind was filled with decisions and never hesitation when action was applied. Being unable to say so now made his stomach clench and twist painfully.

He did not enjoy the idea of stepping foot there, let alone without even a plan. And, even considering it now, the realization made him want to curl his lip back in frustration and spit angrily. He leaned forward, both of them mere inches apart now, and his voice lowered into a soft purr that made his spine tingle as if someone had just lit a spark through his nerves.

He swore his body burned and his heart began to race as the other's fingers gently stroked his sleeve. The action was so slight and gossamer that it felt almost nonexistent. Yugi swallowed hard, blinking wide eyes. The spot where Yami had pressed his nails into his skin the day before now throbbed and burned for a single second.

It passed immediately again, however, as Yugi watched him, and he blinked as he relaxed again more slowly. He licked his lips and the action seemed almost to make Yami's breathing catch and grow rougher.

"But we have need of discussion and I cannot risk waiting much longer."

"Okay, so what's wrong?"

"There is nothing wrong, in such a definition. I am simply tired of you fighting me on this. I grow so exhausted of this game you play. Can we not simply get it over with or do we have to continue playing this pathetic game of merely being around each other?"

"You really suck at being patient, don't you?" he teased though the other was not playing around and was clearly not amused with his response. Yugi chewed his cheek, impulsively reaching out to touch his bangs. Yami watched his fingers for a moment, but did not object to the strange display of affection the smaller boy granted him. "No, we're not going to do that, Yami. Especially not here—are you insane? Sex in front of the fucking arcade?"

"Who said anything about it being here? It would be so easy for you to simply make an excuse to join me within your room—"

" _No_ ," he repeated now, forcing it to come out as firm as possible where his resolve seemed so shaky and weak at best. His head felt light and fuzzy, his mind burning as he struggled to think straight for a moment. He could not understand the emotion that swept through him, nor the blinding pain that burst through each of his nerve endings.

Dizziness crept over his nerves for a split second and he recognized immediately that he was not truly comfortable with the subject. The very thought made his heart pound, his stomach twisting as hi hands grew clammy. He was not ready for that—not in the least—despite how much he had wanted to only the day before.

He licked his lips, watching those bright red eyes as he swallowed thickly seconds later. "Listen, Yami, here's what's going to happen. You're going to go back to the house and—"

Yami ignored him pointedly, lowering his voice to a vicious hiss. "Are you truly thinking to dictate my actions, Yugi?  _Surely_ you know better, yes?"

Yugi frowned and shook his head again slowly. His blue-violet eyes flickered away and then back again as his voice grew softer but no less firm. "I didn't mean it for it to sound like that. I meant that I…no. Just  _please_ go back to the house and I will talk to you there."

" _Right_ ," Yami drawled dismissively. "How about no?"

"I won't have sex with you here. Especially not now—hell, how about  _never_?"

"I don't need sex. Just a few minutes of time."

"I don't want you doing that."

The words came out somewhat snide and somehow disgusted as well. And the tone itself was enough to make Yami blink. His expression morphed instantaneously, hateful as his bright eyes flickered with bursts of emotion. The sight of them seemed to appear like burning flames, causing Yugi to flinch backwards as he recognized the intense hatred that rested there.

He swallowed hard, unable to hide it as his heart began to pound violently within his ribs. It would not have surprised him in the slightest if perhaps his heart pounding so hard and hurriedly sounded almost akin a purr or the dying of a car's engine as it was shut off. He had been the one to initiate that kiss in his room. He had been the one to allow Yami to push him backwards. He was the one that had dragged Yami down with him, twining his fingers in his hair. And he had not once objected to the other boy grinding so heavily upon his hips.

He had not argued when Yami had nipped and licked and ground against him until he was nearly sobbing with excitement.

He had not  _stopped_ him bringing them both to completion in any manner.

This was mostly—if not completely—his fault. Yugi had let him on and Yami had shown more than once that he was growing anxious. It was in the way he sometimes looked at him, the curt manner that occasionally grew within his voice. Yami was not even  _bothering_ to hide it any longer. He was tired of the games they were playing with each other. He was done with the task of circling about the subject they both wished for.

He would not push him like Yugi was beginning to wish he would. But he was also going to stop allowing Yugi the opportunity to make more rules to yet another tenacious game. He was going to argue tooth and nail, in order to force him back, to make him reconsider it all. He would defend himself. And in doing so, he would push and push until Yugi might fall back some. His need for Yugi's energy would push upon his nerves until he all but broke beneath the pressure.

Yugi shivered, looking at him for a moment, and chewed his cheek and debated. How bad would it really be just to let him…do  _that_ again? His cheeks began to light in a blush for a split second at the idea but his stomach coiled with excited friction. A small trickle of fear came through his nerves, however, and he thought momentarily that he could not truly voice this idea.

But, didn't he deserve to have some release of tension as well? Yugi had grown desperate and antsy since the day before, impatient as the red-eyed boy as he was. Maybe just having a little release for the both of them, it would be okay…?

He nodded after a moment, licking his lips.

"You can…um…you know…"

"Jerk you off?" Yami sneered, giving him a look that said he had better repeat it or he would not touch him. His fingers tapped his jaw thoughtfully, his eyes sharp and deliberately disgusted.

The smaller teen glowered at him for a split second, blushing harder with humiliation at the thought of putting it into words, and then finally nodded. His eyes flickered away towards the ground as he drew in a deep breath.

"Y-yeah. Um, you can…jerk me off—but past that? No more, okay?"

The other nodded shortly. "Good. That's all I actually needed in the first place," he snorted, his voice mere seconds from a disdainful sneer.

"Why, uh…sexual energy, anyways?" Yugi commented quietly, weakly. He licked his lisp and swallowed hard as Yami glanced around once and led him a little further away. He swore that he felt the temperature around him drop by several degrees. It was colder than he had ever experienced now. And, abruptly, the noises around him seemed to be drifting into nonexistence.

There was only a white noise, a gentle buzzing, to resonate within his ears, and he watched as several people walked past them slowly. They all bunched up their coats slightly, seemingly struggling with the task of remaining warm, and somehow each of them unconsciously gave them a few inches of space as they walked around them.

"Sex is the most strenuous activity one can put their body through," the other boy said softly, grunting when Yugi blinked wide eyes at him and looked stunned. "When done, their energy spikes at first and then drops again. It is the one natural function of the body that can truly kill the host. Or so I am aware of. But it does not matter. I am simply in need of enough energy to stop my feeling of such burning beneath my skin. This is the easiest way to do so, am I correct in saying?"

"Please stop sneering," Yugi commented quietly after a moment. He reached out to grab his jacket by the lapels, then moved his right hand to his hair to thread his fingers through the strands once more. He gripped weakly, swallowing thickly, lowering his eyes slightly to focus first on Yami's lips and then his teeth when the other flashed them at him. Then he quickly looked up again, shrugging away his somewhat nervous nature. "I like it better when your voice  _doesn't_ make me feel like shit."

"Do you think I care?" Yami asked. The response was borne of instinct rather than thought, so quick to leave his mouth that he almost did not completely realize he had spoken in the first place. The smaller boy made a small noise in the back of his throat, a sound of both distress and shame towards his own momentary reluctance from moments before. But it was swamped almost immediately as Yami stepped closer, his cool body heat giving him nothing but a simple chill as he breathed out a soft heated white puff of air. He did not hesitate, his hand moving to his waistband and then slipping beneath it to cup him. "Sorry."

Yugi's eyes snapped open wide in surprise, the apology making his breath catch for a moment. It had been mumbled irritably, but had not lacked any sincerity. Yami did not look at him, instead licking his lisp and purring deeply in his throat before moving closer to him. His free hand grasped tightly at the smaller teen's shirt, his wrist twisting enough to pull him roughly forward so that they were flush against each other.

His hips ached where their bones clashed now. Yugi felt as if his own head were spinning with the intensity of such emotions which crashed so violently through him. The smaller boy shivered after a moment, letting out a small and gentle moan. His breathing hitched, then panted out loudly, roughly, only once as their eyes caught.

He felt… _different_. It was good, extremely so, but it left him blinking in confusion and struggling to understand fully. He felt a little warmer. It was almost as if perhaps it lingered beneath his skin, his more complete chill at first touch beginning to dissipate. It was not abundant, but it was still there. And he found himself craving it, though he was still somewhat concerned by it.

Did this truly mean it was working or was it just some kind of trick?

Yami snorted softly in his ear. It was something akin a laugh as he muttered, "Must you think so hard every second of your life, Yugi? I asked for twenty minutes, not hours. For fuck's sake, Yugi."

He swallowed away a startled and embarrassed laugh. There was nothing more Yugi knew to say in response, and the first thought to cross his mind was both to apologize and to attempt backing away from him altogether. Instead he moved to rub his cheek against the other boy's hair, burying his nose into the soft strands. A shiver crept through him, the smell of pine and ice and chilled moonlight, the undertone of that ever-present darkness, overwhelming him now. It was so beautiful and complex that it was somehow frightening to him.

The scent threw him over more than Yami's hand was capable of doing. The other boy was startled by the stickiness to coat his hand seconds later as he attempted to pump him again. His movements stopped immediately. Yugi blinked, confused and shocked, a blush creeping from his neck all the way to the tips of his ears as his entire face became flushed bright red.

The other boy stepped back, wrinkling his nose and slowly raising a brow in a manner that made his breath catch in his throat once more.

"Um—I-I'm sorry…?" he muttered awkwardly, pursing his lips and chewing his cheek uncomfortably. His face felt awkward. His cheeks were too heavy, laden with the heat of his blood, and his stomach was knotted with mounting distress.

"You are apologizing? For giving me what I came to you for?" Yami scoffed, but his tone was somewhat softer, more teasing than his usual hideous responses. His eyes were still extremely confused, however, as if he could not understand what had come to happen here. He peered at him blankly for several long moments, then slowly pulled his hand away again.

"Um…I—I didn't warn you…?" Yugi justified himself quietly, voice weak, as he blushed and cringed once more at his own statement. He was relatively sure no one gave a warning about that kind of thing unless it was an actual blowjob. Then it was simply a question of whether they would finish or just leave it alone.

Yami blinked, an eyebrow rising once more. Then he snickered and shook his head. "Are you fucking with me?" he snorted, smirking widely and staring at him with darkened red eyes. "It was sudden, I agree, but I am not one to complain."

Yugi blinked once and went to open his mouth again. But he was too shocked to speak now, as Yami was doing something that Yugi had never once considered he might. It was so unfamiliar to both of them that it amazed them both the consideration had come across his mind in the beginning. He had begun to clean him off with his free hand, wiping away all of the excess cum and gently tucking him back into his boxers, zipping his pants again once more seconds later.

"Um…t-thank you?"

Yami paused for a moment, as if he had not considered Yugi would notice. Then he snorted loudly and barked out a noise akin a laugh that made the smaller teen's blood heat. And, then, with barely a blink, the other boy vanished from his sight in a small flash of brilliant red lightning.

Yugi's ears were crackling for a long second, the noise completely gone before he could even think straight. He glanced around, purring softly in the back of his throat. The noise had been suppressed earlier, as his nose had been buried so deeply within his dark hair. Sound came back in short, muted bursts, as if perhaps Yami's magic had lingered a little longer than the other boy's physical presence. Then, finally, it came to him fully, as it should have been, and he reluctantly headed back inside of the arcade.

"Dude, you okay?" Joey asked immediately, practically leaping forward. Mai caught his arm to restrain him, shaking her head, and Yugi blinked in surprise at the sight of their responses to his return. He was vaguely curious as to why his cousin did not seem as alarmed as Joey was.

But then he remembered that she had not been there the day Yami and Joey had met face to face. She had not seen Yami nearly tear the blond's head off. She had not seen any of it—throwing Tristan and Joey around, sneering at him and Tea. She had not seen the kiss they'd shared and had not been present when they had all spoken about the new development of Yugi's relationship.

But she had also never truly been someone to overreact. She was levelheaded, an odd compliment to Joey, he was sure, as the blond was hotheaded and did not like to change his mind when he had formed an opinion of some kind.

Yugi cast them a small smile, ignoring the pull in his gut as he murmured, "Safe and sound, guys. I told you he wasn't going to hurt me."

But the more Yugi walked towards them, the lighter his head began to feel and the more disoriented his mind became. He thought it similar to something like having cotton in his skull, or perhaps dulled senses which filtered slowly but surely and with weak efficiency. Joey would not stop asking him about Yami, about the conversation they'd had—or more notably, if Yami had laid a hand on him in any way. And each time he asked, Yugi had tried his hardest not to focus too greatly on the words for fear of blushing like a fool.

He tried to focus on the game more than anything, though he did reassure Joey a few more times that Yami was, in fact, not going to hurt him at some point. And then he spent the rest of the day wishing that the blond would shut up, as his own thoughts had become too disoriented and disconnected in his head.

He was halfway home when it finally crossed his mind what his senses might have been hinting so keenly towards. Yugi was rounding the corner, thinking about homework for only a split second and struggling not to allow the various trains of thought to come to the singular cycle of Yami once more. And, despite it all, it hit him hard enough to all but stun him completely.

All those times that Yami had been by himself, playing those card games, teasing and talking to him in general, had been the taller teen studying him. He had watched him play video games, had grown more incredibly restless as time had passed as he simply observed. Yugi had already known that. He had not focused on it—he'd even convinced himself at one point that perhaps it would drift should he play as well—but he could see it in any brief glance.

Yami was beyond restless. With himself, with Yugi.

For a moment it occurred to Yugi that perhaps coming back to the house so soon was not a good idea. Their little moment outside of the arcade was still fresh in his mind. But he knew without question, somewhere within his gut, that the red-eyed teen would never actually  _force_ him.

He had proven so on several occasions, turning away when he pushed him or stopping after he'd left Yugi spent on the floor. He had had ample opportunity to truly seduce him, to leave him winded mess on the ground or beneath the sheets. He'd especially had that same chance each time they'd crossed paths on the streets as well.

Yami could have simply shoved his hand down his pants again as he had at the hospital, but he had asked permission. It might have simply been that he was worried about the idea of taking him against his will. He might have been concerned about the amount of energy that it would take to do so that might not be rewarded him in the end. If it was voluntary, he was sure that Yami would gain more from it than something involuntary.

Or perhaps Yami was learning boundaries as well. They might not have had distinct, clear lines as Yugi knew them, but perhaps he was coming to realize that there were both bit and small lines that he could not— _would_ not—cross. Perhaps he had come to his own conclusions about what he should and shouldn't do.

The only thing that stopped Yugi from truly considering this latter thought was that of the disbelief that swelled within him at the very idea. As much as Yugi might have initially wished he could have pinned such disgusting traits on the other boy, he could  _not_ convince himself of it.

Yami was, in all actuality, not a person that would throw someone else to the floor and force himself upon them. Whether or not Yami was capable of doing so did not weigh on the obvious denial of such actions. He did not know what truly held him back—if it was the idea of his energy being affected by this lack of conscious gifting or something more powerful.

But Yami had done the only thing that he knew to. He had done the very thing that he knew would keep him alive, help him to truly survive—even if it was only for moments or hours or even a few small heartbeats. In his purpose of coaxing him to orgasm within the arcade, he had not truly considered a line or any form of barrier he might have to cross or think of. He had only had the goal of stabilizing this new body he was imprisoned in, of giving himself some energy no matter how useless it might prove to be later.

It had not been aggressive. Yami had not meant to hurt him. He had not even considered such a thing after his vision had changed for those brief moments. But, afterwards, his desires had changed to a more panicked stasis of survival—the need to kill him or harm him to save himself.

And perhaps, Yugi reflected, that had been why it had never truly seemed like sexual assault to him.

But, as he walked inside, Yugi knew without hesitation or even the slightest of thoughts, that Yami was long gone. He had left hours before then. And his aura, as powerful and dangerous as it was, no longer blanketed the house as securely as it once had. In reality, Yami had most likely never even  _returned_ to the house to begin with after the incident at the arcade.

And Yami had needed something— _anything_ , really—to do.

Yugi tried his hardest now to think of a single time within his left that he had not had a purpose. He had been part of a family of four with financial troubles, always struggling to keep their heads above water until his father had gotten the job overseas. He still sometimes heard whispers of the heated arguments late at night when his mother and grandfather butted heads over his father and his relative disappearance from his life.

He himself had played mediator between them since he was born, unknowingly at first and then much more brutally aware of his role upon growing older. He was his grandfather's helper around the house, especially within the shop. He would go so far as to ignore the offer of payment when his grandfather commented on wages. He had been incredibly content with helping and allowing himself to remain small and taking little space.

He was a teenager who went to school. He had friends. He worked with his grandfather. He played mediator with his guardians. He helped around the house with chores. He'd once placed a wager at school for cash in order to bring in some extra money.

And  _now_  he was trying his hardest to help to fix the problem he'd caused for Yami.

But that was just the problem, was it not?

He himself was so  _many_ things.

And Yami was  _none_ of them.

He was—quite  _possibly_ —his friend. Perhaps he was even a god if that was not just his ego talking. But the rest was pretty much unknown territory and Yami had nothing to think of as a reason to stay. He did not try to find something to keep him preoccupied with his life—because, in all actuality, Yami did not  _have_ one.

And Yami had come from a place of some form of great importance by mere design. In the Shadow Realm, he'd been revered as a god. And that must have meant power and responsibility.

Here, with Yugi, he did not even know if he was truly  _needed_.

And that must have made him more desperate that he cared to show.

Yugi trudged up the stairs.

A lot more things had come to light than Yugi had originally assumed they might. Yami had protected him so often not only because it might mean a wound for him, but because he could feel the necessity of his being there. It was enough to make him cross the line to kill, but it was the only reason he truly could find to exist within this human plane as well. And it occurred to him that, not too long ago, Yugi himself had said he did not know why Yami had been brought there, what had done it, nor what was to be offered in explanation.

Yugi almost thought to search for him. But then he stopped, his mind recoiling at the very idea. To do so would be alienating for Yami. So Yugi slipped into his room, casting only a slight glance over his shoulder towards the sound of his mother on the phone. The smile in her voice said that it was his dad on the other end. And, more than anything, Yugi wanted  _that_ in his life—the knowledge that just a simple thought or a mere snippet of another's voice would give his life a bright spot of some kind.

But reality clawed at his insides. He did not think that would happen.

He had  _Yami_.

And Yami was his problems  _personified_. He was his anger and frustration, his power of will, his stubbornness and ferocity. And yet, somehow, he was innocent and altogether terrible, with a nature that contradicted his very actions in every sense. And so, as Yugi considered it, he could not truly convince himself of such discontent towards the other's existence.

And it did well to crush any idea that he could possibly have such a smile at the mere thought of the red-eyed teen or the sight of him, the mere idea of hearing from him.

He did not think that Yami was someone capable of making him feel so in love that the very mention of them made him smile. But Yugi thought—or, no, he  _knew_ —that Yami could be that  _one person_ to make him feel whole where the others in his life so effortlessly failed.

And Yugi was reminded that there would never  _be_ others as far as partners went. Yami would be the first and the last. He would be the core of his experiences, with the line of his sexuality running parallel to the other boy. He knew it deep in the very center of his being, where that primal instinct so often stirred and coiled inside of him as if in approval of such an idea.

There was no question about this, however.

Yami had laid it out before him and Yugi was not truly about to argue with it either. He could not picture another in his place. He could not even think of a single person who might have the ability to complete him in the way that he knew Yami could.

But that was not love.

And anyone to think so was either foolish or far too naïve.

It was an obsession of kinds. It was raw and cold, festering beneath his skin like a grudge might within the darkness of his thoughts. It was overpowering and left nothing to be shared of him with others. It was the selfish need and desire, the one that demanded he strive to become whole again. It was the absolute  _wish_ that the red-eyed teen be his secret, his power, his dead, his life

It was not any magnitude of romance.

It was desperation.

It was need.

It was fire.

It was ice.

It was desire that ran as deep as the Nile and would never lessen.

It was in his soul and branded within his heart, seared into his mind.

It was not a question of any kind.

Part of Yami was here with him, even as the room remained altogether empty and lifeless, bare of the other's presence altogether. But, though he had left, Yami would know. It should have been a comfort for the both of them, but Yugi felt almost trapped, lost beneath the surface of such an immense weight of realization.

And, realizing that he might feel that way, made his heart ache.

If he had the smallest inkling of sensation of being trapped, then Yami must have suffered that a million times more. He had to feel so incredibly trapped, snared and cornered, and absolutely useless…

* * *

Yugi had expected a reaction of some kind to Yami's distance. But he had not supposed it would be anywhere within the realm of such extremities. He was almost immobilized from it, physically winded at even the thought of movement at times. And he had felt almost as if he were becoming paralyzed somewhere deep inside of him. It seemed wrong to even so much as fathom the idea of movement. He wanted nothing more than to remain under the covers and hide away for the time that Yami remained away from him.

Somehow, it seemed, they required far less contact than Yugi had originally assumed now that they had spent so much time together as they had. He had truly expected himself to perhaps lose his mind, become crazier than usual, possibly even grow so restless that his reality seemed to become fragmented within his own thoughts.

But, in truth, Yugi felt as if he were all but crippled now. The disoriented and fractured mindset that had befallen him now had grown to points that he was sure would attract attention. He was amazed that the police had not gone looking for him as an escaped mental patient. It was hard for him to keep his balance, as it seemed off kilter and weaker than ever, and he felt he must have lost something extremely vital.

Most times Yugi felt that perhaps he feared Yami might end up dead and somehow it would not affect him as everything else so often seemed to. Or perhaps that Yami had already died and the effects of his passing were slow and torturous, setting in with all the power of a weak toxin. But that did not seem to be correct in its assumption, either.

Yugi did not feel  _severed_ as he knew he would have had something  _truly_ happened to the other boy.

It was ingrained, a tiny touch of knowledge which his mind consistently circled and clung desperately to. But Yugi wanted him back. He wanted him to come back to the house more than he desired anything else. After only a week of separation, Yugi was already succumbing to the urge to just remain immobile and all but live beneath the blankets of his bed as if he were gripped by mental and physical paralysis.

And, oh gods, if his mind was not so ragged that the very thought of sleep overwhelmed him. It was useless and time-consuming, an action that benefited him none in his need of Yami's return.

Most of his sleep had become dreamless, as if his desperation had blackened his brain to the point of dulling what had once been mildly vivid formerly. But, other times, it was lewd, filled with the brightness of colors that would have once hurt his eyes. They would be under the covers, Yami above him, lips swollen, Yugi's fingers still caught in his hair. His eyes were always wrong, however—colder, flatter, as if he could not give them life even in his own wildest fantasies. But, in his nightmares, they were the first thing to blink into nonexistence. As Yami would lay there, hand outstretched, bleeding to death, covered in blood, puking it up even as he rasped and pled for his help.

Now, in his dreams, a tongue passed over the side of his face. It was a small, rather tender stroke that was quickly succeeded by another. The kisses were soft and gentle as they trailed upon his neck, the pulse beneath his skin. And small nips of his canines where they pinched his skin made Yugi mewl and whimper with pleasure.

Yami was caught between his legs, the limbs wrapped around him in a vice grip, his desperation all but ensuring he remain there. The other kissed and licked at his skin lightly as Yugi pulled at his hair lightly, purring and whimper as an animal in heat might. Fingers caught in those soft strands as they normally did, tugging as he writhed and canines bit lightly upon his skin to pepper it with red and pink.

The red-eyed teen hissed against his skin as his nails scraped upon his scalp, but the sensuality of it had yet to cease in any manner.

But, as always, it was a dream in which Yami refused his own voice. And, as Yugi would struggle to breathe out words and beg for his voice in return, the boy would attempt to distract him. Sinful licks and kisses would be pressed upon his skin, drifting lower and lower at times. And Yugi would mewl and fold beneath his will and this deity—should he truly  _be_ one—would play him like a violin.

But he would go no further. And Yugi would want to scream in frustration as he woke, the hardness all but enough to kill him.

And, to further his irritation, Yugi was almost certain that Yami had found his way into his dreams and was thus  _manipulating_ them. He did not know if it was because Yami did not want him to forget that he was still there or that, though he was not there physically, their deal still existed and had to be maintained.

But Yugi recognized that this was a dream in which Yami had forced the events to transpire. He knew it as eerily similar and familiar to him, because of those few times Yami had attempted to so callously kill him in his sleep. He knew the signs, a cold breeze which might twitch and drift upon his skin, the drastic temperature drop which would crawl through the atmosphere.

Sometimes he might be reliving a childhood memory, only to see it morph. He would first become older, his sense of reality shifting as the memory around him began to expand and differ in its once beautiful innocence. He would come upon the reality of walking alone down a dark, dimly lit street, only to be ambushed from behind.

Then the dream would change again, as the pain connected in his senses. As his head would slam into the concrete or his neck would ache with the impact of a hit, he would feel it. The pain would dissipate. And the scenery would become that of something more peaceful and bewildering.

He might be walking along a beach alone. Or he might be playing with Tristan's dog, Lucky.

It would happen in rapid succession, so swift that had he turned, Yugi would  _still_ have missed his attacker regardless.

The attacks were swift, efficient, and brutal in their delivery. Had they been done while he was conscious, truly walking on the street in front of others, his throat would have been slashed. Or, perhaps, due to the angle and force of the blow, his head might snap from his neck and tumble off.

Then there were the nails which raked down his sides, threatening to spill his guts. But they would stop as the pain would overwhelm him. And the retaliation would force Yami to back off entirely.

Other times his ribs would have been broken with the impact to the all. Or his arm was wrenched so violently from its socket that he was choking and gasping for air when he woke, the pain a phantom he had become well-acquainted with.

Sometimes Yami did not truly bother to change the scenery. Instead he would manipulate only the speed of which it moved. And, as a younger Yugi would sense something wrong, Yami would launch himself at him. He could be six years old, eating ice cream with his dad for the last time before he went to the states, and he would  _see_ Yami then. The red-eyed teen would not do a thing to change this fact. And, as Yugi would feel different disorienting thoughts come to the surface, bludgeoning for his attention, Yami would come at him.

He was wild, with the expression of an animal cornered. His eyes would flash with malice. His lips would pull back to show his teeth. And Yugi, in some state between awareness and reality, would try to say his name. But be could never so much as blink. As Yami would be upon him immediately.

And then the boy would be gone again, as if he were nothing but a mirage brought on by the exposure of too much heat. And Yugi would lose his thoughts of him as he became securely wrapped within the cocoon of his childhood again. And it would play out as if he were not once disturbed or shaken from their original reality. He would finish his ice cream, asking his dad when he might come back, and hear the words, "I'm not honestly sure, Yugi, but I'll always be there if you need me."

It was from these dreams that Yugi would only possess the smallest reminiscences of his dreams. There would be a dull ache to his arm, or a bruise forming along his hip, dizziness swelling behind his eyes, or a throbbing to push upon the back of his skull. That had been the only true hint that Yami had desired nothing more than to kill him. And, more often than not, Yugi had wondered at his ability and decision to so easily spare him. He acted so much as a caged animal, one which circled its enclosure and tested the weaknesses with terrible hatred.

He would test the lines, see where they were woven into the magic. And he would try for the boundaries that they both knew had to exist but lacked clarity of. And, when they reinforced themselves, he would retreat as if he had never been.

And, clearly, the results rested solely in Yugi's favor, for he was still alive.

Now Yugi woke as he always did when a dream of that caliber came to him. He was horny, cranky, slightly embarrassed upon witnessing his own eagerness, frustrated by the situation they found themselves forced into, and horrified by the pleased noises which still so easily reached his ears. Then, he would blink, and the fear and worry would crash through him once more.

And, each time, it was so forceful that it knocked the air clear from his lungs.

It took him what felt like hours longer to regain his bearings this time. His mind struggled to grasp at the insufficient remnants of his dream as they faded so swiftly as to leave him dizzy with such sensation. For a split second he found himself merely blinking at the wall, startled and horrified by this vibrant color, and then shook his head slightly.

There had been something wrong with this dream. He could not place it, but it had been there. It had been… _disturbing_. And his chest felt more hollow than usual as he considered it.

Yugi blinked and glanced about the room once more. What had disturbed him so much? Normally he would sleep until Yami hissed into his ear. He would say something about waking up, laughing at him when he pleaded against it. Or he might simple snarl something of the nature of his truest desires, to destroy him entirely. Either time he spoke, the boy would subsequently, briskly, abandon him without a second thought.

But something had changed this time. And Yugi had no idea what it was now. He reached up, rubbing his hands through his hair as he sat up completely.

His back popped painfully, a small grunt leaving him as before he could think straight. When he drew in another breath, his lungs felt weak and strange, and the smell that greeted him was sickening. His head snapped to the side, towards the nightstand, and he peered at its surface for a moment as he tried to place what was amiss.

The scattered images in his mind drifted away almost like smoke, but a realization still pushed itself to the forefront of his mind. He blinked, eyes widening, and frowned as he considered this new realization.

Yami had not gone as far as usual in this dream. He had not bothered to truly make out with him. He had not fully ground against him. He had seemingly held him at bay instead, with little nips and soft kisses.

Yugi blinked and frowned, wondering at this realization, and thought that something in his room might have simply settled wrong. For a long time his eyes remained glued, staring almost blankly at the surface of the nightstand beside him. When Yugi breathed in again, wary and exhausted, the smell of burned flesh failed to meet him. But he did think that he could still catch something of the forest and moonlight and brilliant soft shadows.

Had Yami been there?

The Puzzle had not been moved in the least, and it did not explain why he had not gone as far as usual. Usually Yami took pleasure in causing him to run late, rushing to school in a sense of panic.

Yugi could not feel anything even remotely like that burst of powerful energy the Puzzle had used to throw them aside that day. But something was still terribly off about the artifact as he stared at it. A small but nagging fear began to bubble up in his stomach, his throat tightening faintly.

He sprang upwards, startled, and every hair on his body rose into a horrified bristle. His head snapped around, his breath coming out in a gasp, and he gaped blindly for a long moment. The desk rattled and shook for a split second, vibrating, and the noise alone was harsh enough to make him flinch. The low thrumming made him groan behind his teeth before shaking his head.

Then he sighed, reaching out to smack his hand against the alarm clock as it continued to so hideously chime at him. Yugi hesitated for a moment, blinking, and the exhaustion crashed through him again, unforgiving and frustrating in every manner. The sleepiness was gone from him immediately. But his limbs felt heavy even as everything seemed to be swallowed by alarm and a compulsive desire.

He glanced out the window, excited now. And some small part of him truly  _expected_ to find Yami there. He thought that the red-eyed teen might be perfectly balanced even as he pulled the window open to slip inside. But there was nothing to greet him there but bright white, fluffy clouds waiting to dust Japan with virgin snow.

* * *

His pale skin split, painting Yami with blood and leaving his arm drenched, dripping with red. His spine ached, throbbing with a dull but powerful pain, and the marrow in his bones boiled beneath his skin. The boy blinked and his eyes felt as if they might burst forth from his skull at any second.

Yami's mind was on fire, blazing furiously, and his skin felt cold as he looked down again. Whatever conscience he might have once possessed was gone with the ease of a simple pull of breath. The fire in his mind burned, giving him the word of the status he had fallen upon, something so familiar to him that he wished he might embrace it, allow it to swallow him whole.

Feral.

Exactly as he  _needed_.

All of it had become nothing more than one massive mess. But Yugi was needy and Yami so needed as well. However, he was all but certain that the simplicity of his situation was dictated by one sole thing—Yugi.

The smaller teen was no longer able to deny him when he was there, often giving Yami as much reaction as the deity could push upon the smaller boy. They would tug and press upon each other, pushing until they were both able to give and take in sync. But Yami needed far more than Yugi was truly willing to give him, but if he had meant to push at his most primal desire, the red-eyed boy did not know that he could pull away again later.

The blood was pounding in his ears, a remnant of an ancient war drum and chants like broken voices and shattered screams. They were not his own in any way, but that of the simple bastard before him. As Yami looked upon him, the organ seemed to rattle and quake.

It trembled where it had once been steady. The red-eyed boy listened to it as the organ strained and seemed to become swallowed within his senses. Yami's leg shot out as his insides curled with hatred, and the blow sent the air from this boy's lungs with a satisfying whistle of a gasp. The red-eyed teen watching him as he began to curl up on his side, panting even as his blood began to scream and spilled from his lips, choking him with each breath.

Yami thought his throat had to be raw by now. The boy had been crying out for hours. How he had managed to do so for so long to begin with was beyond him. Perhaps Yami had given him too much room to writhe and scream and heal and wriggle like the termite he truly was. But that would have stripped his life from Yami too quickly, though he knew—and he thought perhaps this pathetic human before him did too—that it was not over.

But Yami was far from done with him.

His ribs broke as if they were made of chalk, crushed beneath his shoe as he stomped. He was gurgling and choking, drowning in blood, and his organs were beginning to shut down. Yami could hear them, almost as if they were humming with the electricity of a light bulb as it was switched on.

They pulsed softly with energy, stronger than average when he had first attacked. They were restored beyond those of a normal human's when he had decided to heal him somewhat. Yami had wanted it to be more painful than if the boy felt used to it. And one could grow used to the pain beneath this skin or mere flesh wounds. He knew this well enough. He himself had grown to know these things easily, and he thought that if his  _own_ broken body could do such a then, then a true human could as well.

Yami had even given him his eye back. It had not been too terribly hard to wipe the memory clean of the incident where his family was concerned. And his friends had been easily influenced by a mere brush of his powerful aura against their minds. Humans were so incredibly weak-willed and easily fooled, and their bodies so powerless and readily destroyed.

What had formerly been little trills of life, given more strength than ever before, had not begun to lose its unique tremors, growing still beneath the heavy flesh.

Yami supposed that internal bleeding could surely do such a thing to one's body.

It was satisfying to watch this mammoth of a human as he choked and coughed dark red across the concrete. The deity's lips pulled back, sneering silently, and smoothed into a small smirk of pure devilish laughter. The sight may have been enjoyable, but it did not fill the deeper ache of self-betrayal that burned within him. He had left Yugi behind after that little interaction at the arcade, gone back on his own commitment and every form of it.

And thus, he  _suffered_ for it.

But there was no true need for his presence so constantly bestowed upon the human teen. With days spent between them, surviving through the simplest exposure to the smaller boy, it had become something all-consuming and drastic between the both of them. Had Yami not held such self-restraint for fear of repercussions, he could have easily fucked him on the floor then and there. The kiss had done them both well to drag upon their fractured control, to destroy what instinct there was between them to hold off.

Yami would never have cared to see Yugi's mother walk upon them, not even if she had pulled out a weapon on him. The deity had simply pulled away for the fear of his body being damaged in some way should he overstep. The Puzzle might have lashed out for all he knew in reality. But, despite his willingness at that moment, Yami had been aware that Yugi was not truly ready. He would have come to regret it later, and Yami was not sure of what might have happened had he persisted.

Yami stared down at the boy for a moment, purring softly in amusement. His eyes were cold, desolate, caught somewhere in the shadows. But his mind was racing now even as the other boy's gaze reflected him.

He tilted his head. Where his lip should have stopped bleeding, been completely swollen but no longer painted such a bright red, it was still gushing. The teen beneath him was drowning in the liquid once more. It coated his slightly yellowed teeth and bubbled out with each breath he let out. When he hacked, it came like water from a geyser. The red-eyed boy smirked widely in satisfaction, humming to himself softly.

His eyes were glowing where they were reflected there. They were the only bits of color, pupils blown wide and shot, black and empty in their design, with mere ringlets. The rest of his reflection was almost nothing more than the shadows, twisting and writhing viciously like a mound of coiled snakes.

This kind of punishment—retribution, he supposed—was ancient. It was stronger than even the gods, older than the Puzzle. It was darker than anything else in existence.

The Shadow Game had been fun while it had lasted. But he had dragged the Penalty Game out for far longer. And now Yami could, subtly but surely, feel the effects of the trial helping to heal some kind of sore in his core that he had not even realized existed before that moment.

Watching the other boy, however, Yami thought maybe he had known of it at some time. After all, he did like to feel pain every now and then. Self-inflicted from the lack of his power being in use or not, it was more satisfying than even the warmth which came with Yugi's touch to his skin. It was more fulfilling than even that strange heat which bled into the tiny space between them, where they both overlapped and surged together fully.

It felt all the more powerful than their minds and emotions and that deep, aching feral need resided within them both.

Yami remained still, to the point of becoming statuesque in his manner, his eyes and ears trained upon this boy. He blinked, then drew his eyes towards the blood on the ground, where it seemed to splatter outwards in droplets of bright fire, and tilted his head slightly further.

There.

Now he could hear it.

His heart was growing weaker, beginning to give out.

Yami was not done, however, and a smirk grew upon his lips as his eyes narrowed faintly. He could feel the magic coiling within his veins, sparking across his nerves with energy so deep and primal that it brought forth a deep purr. The blood in his body was all new, the cells growing to multiply and replace the old.

And Yami did not bother to hide his contentment as his eyes fell into slits. The energy laced and mixed inside of him. His voice drifted lifelessly through his mind where they had been formerly screaming and demanding he seek payment from his victim.

And yet, he had no reason to fear his passing from life prematurely. His heart would not stop until Yami himself allowed it.

The magic of a Penalty Game would keep him alive until he felt he was finished in all absoluteness. It would not allow Ushio to greet death until Yami was sure of his finality with the massive teen, and it would keep his lungs and heart and liver alive just to spite the boy.

A small thought drifted through his mind, unbidden and strange. His head tipped upwards, and he drew in a deep breath, allowing it to settle in his lungs and swarm his senses fully. An awareness peeked somewhere in the back of his mind. It was almost as it had that day he had read of the contents in Yugi's room despite the Japanese language not being something he had known beforehand.

His red eyes drifted over the clouds, and he wrinkled his nose slightly. He puzzled over the scent which lingered in the air. It was frosty, but it held a quality that he could only describe as… _glass_.

His mind continuously circulated back to the word. It refused to allow him riddance of it. Yami tipped his head again, sniffed once more, and blinked slowly. A million things sprang forth, some of which should have had a scent but remained just beneath the surface of his consciousness, places that he reached but could not dwell upon.

He turned his head back to Ushio abruptly.

Should Yami tear his heart from his chest?

Perhaps he should crush his skull instead…

Yami did not know yet. He had not considered what end he might give him. He had, after all, beaten Yugi endlessly throughout the schooldays that they had once crossed paths. The small boy had barely been able to walk most afternoons when school was over. And only the fear of his return and the need to monitor his grandpa had given him the strength to do so.

Had Yugi been any weaker, or had he not been so concerned for others over himself, he could have simply succumbed to the pain and simply lay there. Someone might have scraped his dead body from the schoolyard. And they would have apologized to his family that such a tragedy had come to exist.

Ushio was not to remain alive. Yami knew that. And he thought even the bastard knew that. The judgment had been passed by the Puzzle rather than him. But how he ended his life and slaughtered him was always a question of which caused him great amusement at the end of the day.

Most of the time he at least tried to keep it… _pretty_ , if nothing else.

Or ironic.

Beautiful in an ironic sense.

Blood could easily be smeared to paint pictures. Maybe he would use Ushio's and writ something along the walls. Or perhaps he would draw across the boy's broken body and have a chuckle when it was later found.

If he was feeling creative, he might take his corpse and hang it from the school's flagpole for fun.

Yami tipped his head further to the side, listening to that weak but steady heartbeat that the other teenager possessed. He would have to find Yugi later, he reminded himself, when the voices in his head had calmed from the strain they had been under. The smaller teen's close proximity had made him restless, confrontational, had pressed hard upon his mind and mental barriers. Because of this, Yami had not been able to quell those soft whispers in his head, the ones that demanded blood and shattered bones and death and sacrifice.

Perhaps Yugi had been correct in saying that it had stabilized his more prominent emotions and the way they had rested so close to the surface beneath his skin. Perhaps Yugi had truly quelled many of the disgustingly brutal influences they held over him and his unstable temperament. But he had also been terribly wrong. His assumption that his own problem was of this nature, existing solely in this manner, was wrong in all absolution.

His core conflict was that this new world he was stuck within existed as nothing more than a prison. The fact that Yugi had bound him to this place with a name, had bound him to  _his side_  like some kind of pet, was an issue of which he had no manner of articulation to offer explanation.

He had not meant to.

Yami knew that.

He had even come to accept it.

Names were binding.

They held power like nothing else.

Yami may have been a god, but Yugi had given him a  _name_. And this single act had, more or less, represented a precise and powerful ownership of which Yugi had no idea. The small boy had named him to have  _some_ kind of way to address him or perhaps speak of him without saying something generic or rude. He had not wished to call him "boy" as Yami himself had so often done to him.

The deity knew this. He understood it. He acknowledged it. He accepted it.

Yugi respected people far too much. And Yami himself did not care in the slightest if they wound up with their intestines spilled about. Little children could stumble upon such a sight and Yami would not once bat an eye towards their distress.

But he should never have opened his mouth, named him…

His anger towards this memory made his skin burn. Power, painting the edges of his vision black, weaved its way through his sight. Long, jagged cracked lines of darkness trailed along his veins like forks of shadowed lightning, fracturing the pitiful image of the boy before him.

* * *

Yugi stared at the stoplight in front of him for what felt like hours, willing it impatiently to change. He chewed at his cheek teeth gouging into his skin until it began to burn, and tried in vain to ignore the chitchat around him. For the last week Mai had begun to walk with them on their way to school in the mornings.

The sight of her coming down the street that first morning had all but stunned him. He had not been expected it. And she had not told him that she had planned to do so. All Yugi had known was that Mai hated to walk in the mornings. And that had been one of her primary reasons for not joining them before then. She had always loved to show off her purple convertible.

She had gotten it for her sixteenth birthday the year before and she had never once considered walking to or from a place after she had received her license. The very fact that she had come down the street to see them had stunned him visibly. And he had the feeling that his shock had somehow done well to give Joey another impression of his relationship with her.

But Yugi could not focus on that in the slightest, either. There was some deep, mind-eating, soul-devouring guilt which had come to take residence within him. It ate away at every part of him, smothering his senses cruelly, and the small teen was struggling with the task of navigating such a thing. Halfway through his morning ritual, a thought had stumbled along the forefront of his mind, heavy with foreboding that seemed to make his heart burst.

And that had only to do with if Yami did not remain near him, he would have to simply accept it. It was the only length of freedom Yugi was capable of giving him, if he had truly done what Yami claimed so viciously he had. And the other teen was too estranged and wild for him to think that he could possibly keep him where he did not want to be.

And maybe that was—though it surely was not only one—a reason they fought. Yugi was the one who had been bred for being so simple. He was a small sixteen-year-old, one of which had come to capture a god whom retained  _no_ true restraints. But the deity—if he truly were one—drew lines within the dirt for himself.

Yami would not back down and Yugi was trying to make himself appear strong enough to be that threat Yami considered him. It was the only way he seemed to be able to hold the other's attention long enough to make him listen when he spoke. Yami was nothing short of passion personified, as he had so recently to realize.

Yami needed the fight because he so  _thrived_ on it.

He needed the predatory stance that existed when he was about to kill Ushio because it was just another version of a battle for him.

But all of that passion was wasted in hating him so terribly as he did.

Yami could honestly do so much more if he were simply to be shown or truly given the chance.

"Did you hear about that new game they're going to be getting down at the arcade?" Joey prattled, drawing the others into yet another conversation. Yugi clenched his jaw tightly for a split second, quick to dismiss it before anyone could come to notice. He did not want to discuss the arcade. And he didn't want to go there either.

For him, despite his own attempts to be more logical, the arcade had become the center of every issue to be presented in his life at the moment. It had brought him Yami. It had also seemingly taken him away.

Everything seemed to happen at this stupid little arcade. It was the place where they were supposed to go after school to blow off steam and settle down before they needed to get home and start homework.

On another day he might have lunged at the opportunity. After all, he liked to play games—in fact, he loved them, as he was sure even Yami could attest—and he liked to beat any high scores. Yugi enjoyed having his name shown in large block letters of white or black. It would pronounce him the victor each time and he would revel for a few minutes in having succeeded at a goal another might have assumed impossible.

But now Yugi felt hardly even a stirring beyond anger at the mention of such a routine.

He had not gone there since Yami had left. No one had mentioned it. No one had asked about Yami except when he had come back. No one had suggested going back. And he had been sure it was because they had all become afraid of the red-eyed teen appearing there again.

And not once had Yugi himself cared to even consider returning there.

He felt mildly bad for not talking to them about how he felt or that none of them actually seemed to completely notice. He knew that Joey was far more involved with Mai than he was anything else at the moment, however. He had become so absorbed in the task of making her his girlfriend that Yugi imagined that Serenity might even be kidnapped and he might not notice for days on end.

Tea was more confused and upset, he knew, because of the false past he had provided them to tell of his meeting Yami. What she had seen the red-eyed boy do within the alley had not done well to give her an impression of any favor towards him. The arguments that the four of them had broken into had done nothing to help either.

Tristan was busy all but pretending that Yami had never existed in the first place and nothing was out of the ordinary. He had come to the decision to disregard anything to do with the other boy, turning a blind eye as if there were no reason to be upset. So Yugi was not surprised that he had not bothered to pull him aside and ask anything of any kind.

And he was also unsurprised that the others had so simply seemed not to notice his growing melancholy—or perhaps they had not thought to bring it up. Only a couple of times had he been asked if he was okay because he had been too quiet. But no one had asked if he was okay because of his glumness. It was almost kind of funny how things had come to transpire within their group.

The stoplight finally turned, flashing, and Yugi started forward with the others. His eyes were glued to the other sidewalk, a hum threatening to escape as he ignored the glance a driver gave the small group. He did not for even the slightest of moments think to stop and reconsider movement. But then something seemed to stir.

Yugi blinked, eyes widening, and for a second he thought his lashes had somehow become stuck together. A shape had taken form in the very corner of his vision. And for a moment it was simply unrecognizable, unknown and all but bewildering. And then it sprang upon him.

 _Yami_.

He swore he had seen that deep blue. It was distorted to a near shade of purple. And the line of it was a cut of his own school uniform. There was a flash of golden-bronze skin. Then he saw sharp red eyes and spiky black hair with streaks of goldenrod and tips of ruby and flame.

But when Yugi turned his head, mouth beginning to pull into a wide, excited grin, his exuberance bursting through him, he found that Yami was not there. Even as he looked all about them, swiftly to ensure the others did not see him doing so, he found nothing. His heart leaped into his throat and his body felt small and meek as he stared blankly.

"Are you okay?" Tea asked immediately as Yugi hurried to follow them. A driver just barely resisted blaring their horn at him as he sped to their sides again. And he was forced to ignore the way that they shook their head at him angrily with a disgusted glare.

For a moment Yugi did not recognize her voice or the fact that her attention was upon him. He had merely heard a voice, soft-spoken words which sounded vaguely familiar, and it took him a moment to realize who it was and what was being said. His head turned and he blinked, flashing her a small smile. He wished to say that he was fine, but again his lashes seemed to clump together, forming that unmistakable shape as if to mock him.

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath. He blinked, turning to look around again slowly. His lips tugged into a firm frown now, eyes flickering about as he scanned the area hurriedly for the other's presence there. He could not feel him there, however. And that should have been a more blatant clue to him that Yami was not there. But he was so desperate. And he wanted to blame the lack of exposure to the other teen on his inability to sense him.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Yugi murmured, turning back and smiling at her with a small nod. He felt as his head were spinning and his face might split with the pain of the words. "I just…I guess I thought I saw something."

"Oh, yeah? What did you think you saw?" the brunette asked softly, friendly and reassuring. But there was a slightly concerned, startled undertone which made him smile the smallest bit more. He could almost see the thoughts turning there, and he knew she was coming to the right conclusion.

"Just…I don't know. A shape in the corner of my eye…"

"Oh, o—"

"Hey, how has that Yami guy been lately?"

The use of his name caused Yugi to stop short for a split second, his legs failing him altogether as he halted completely. He blinked wide blue-violet eyes, turning his head to look towards Joey in shock and alarm. A tingle crept down his spine in a cascade of shock. Had he seen him too?

But why would Yami bother to expose himself to the blond of all people? He blinked again, alarmed even further. And he wished for a moment that he might be able to turn and run back to his house. He wanted to forget all about school altogether.

"I mean, he hasn't been giving you any trouble or anything, right? Nothing I need to beat the little bastard up for?"

Yugi let out a small laugh to calm his nerves. The adrenaline that had fluttered through his veins in that single second was dispelled instantly. "He's fine. I haven't seen him in a little while," he admitted, shrugging as if it might diffuse some of the tension that he knew the others felt at the very mention of his name. But the action only seemed to make it harder to breathe for a moment. Yugi shook it off and exhaled again. "I don't know. He's…he's Yami, I guess."

"Meaning?" Mai asked slowly, drawing the word out to get more of a clue to the statement's meaning. Her violet eyes narrowed faintly as she stared at her younger cousin. Yugi felt sick to his stomach for a split second.

"Meaning that he's just being a difficult little shit," Yugi laughed, trying to sound playful. He thought his voice was higher in pitch, that he was sounded disturbingly like a squeak toy. He thought he sounded miserable and discarded and uncomfortable, but he did not let it shake him as he continued. Yugi drew in a deep breath and then exhaled softly. "He's just…being a little shit as always. I mean, he is not doing anything wrong—don't think that…"

How much did Mai know about Yami again? None of them had told her about the attack in the alleyway, right? They had barely even mentioned that he had hooked up with the red-eyed teen in the first place. Beyond that, he was almost assured that she had no other knowledge concerning the taller boy. From what he knew, when they'd gotten Joey back to his house to clean the pinpricks on his neck, Mai had returned to spending time with her friends for a little while. And, she had not been present for the argument at his house when they had all seemingly cornered him for information about Yami. So she was in the dark for most of it.

And that suited Yugi perfectly.

"He's just…he's being difficult. I just haven't seen him in a little while, so it's kind of hard to say how he's been or…what he's been up to, you know?"

"Oh, well…okay then," his cousin muttered, sounding skeptical as her eyes raked over his form slowly as if searching him for the lie. "Just as long as you're okay, I guess."

"I am," he reassured her immediately, nodding and wondering about just how much of that statement was true. He was physically fine at first glance, he supposed. But he did not feel okay, not by any means. Yugi knew that he would get along and live with everything going on, regardless of Yami's absence and the disconnection that came with it.

But he did not think that qualified as  _okay_  when it was truly taken into consideration. Something was off whenever he thought to apply such a description to himself. He thought maybe that would change if he could get the red-eyed boy back around him once more. But for the moment he supposed the concept when applied to him was completely wrong.

When Yugi turned his head again, he felt his shoulders rise slightly in frustration. He swore he saw him again, standing off somewhere in the corner of his vision. He chewed his cheek until blood soaked his tongue. Then he narrowed his eyes into slits, frustrated and almost exhausted once more. His stomach twisted and he tore his eyes from where he had looked down the street again. He stared straight ahead, walking in pace with them.

"So…are you two actually still together or what?" Mai asked suddenly, startling him enough to make him stumble. He blinked, head snapping towards her in shock, and felt his stomach drop further. The others abruptly stopped in their movements as well, spinning around to face him as if they had come upon the idea that they needed to watch him as he spoke.

Yugi's cheeks began to heat faintly, flustered by their collective attention, and his voice cracked with something akin desperation and pure embarrassment. "I don't know," he murmured weakly, looking away and starting to walk past them. His eyes had found the pavement and were glued there now. "He doesn't answer me when I try to reach out to him. For all I know, he's trying to break up with me by ignoring me altogether."

Yugi raised his chin somewhat as he strode past Joey and Tristan. The blond seemed far too satisfied with this new information when the smaller boy glanced at him. And he had the feeling that perhaps Joey wanted nothing more than to shout in victory and laugh out loud. Tristan wore something of a similar but much milder expression, and Yugi swore that was only because he did not want to think or even consider Yami. If he could pretend he did not exist, then it would be easier for him to navigate the situation altogether.

He didn't bother to glance back and see about Tea's expression. And the thought of seeing Mai's was beyond anything he desired in the slightest. But he was sure they had swapped cringes and perhaps even looks of sympathy at one point.

* * *

"Yugi, can I talk to you for a minute?" Tea asked a few minutes after school had let out. Yugi had just barely slung his backpack over his shoulder when she had spoken, and paused as he crammed books into his locker and looked at her curiously for a moment. She did not seem upset—not at all unhappy, actually—and her expression seemed almost more serene than it had in days. The thought brought a small smile to his face as he nodded at her and tilted his head curiously.

"Sure, Tea," he replied, blinking. "Just let me grab my stuff and I'll meet you outside, okay?"

"Okay."

Yugi tilted his head further as she walked off. Was it simply his imagination or had she at one point been blushing, even if only slightly? And…was she bouncing as she walked away? She seemed far lighter on her feet at the moment than he had seen her in  _days_. Yugi pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes into near slits, and wondered if maybe it was simply wistful thinking because he had rarely ever seen her blush.

And why should she blush over  _him_?

Yugi slipped his books further into the metal locker and hummed softly as he started for the door. He pulled the second strap over his shoulder and rubbed at an eye. Then he paused, a flicker of something touching upon his insides, and spun around again immediately. His eyes grew wide, thrice their usual size.

His shadow was draped upon the tile in a long stroke of soft gray against white and black squares. It was the only thing within the entire hallway to exist near him. Others had run along to start after-school activities—some at school, others at the arcade—and so he was the only one left.

But Yugi could  _feel him_ now.

There was a gentle but firm chill that had come to settle on his skin. It was akin an extra layer of clothing, but so light that he could easily have missed it. He was there, somewhere, around him, maybe even outside but close enough that Yugi could feel his presence once more.

The smaller teen took a moment to revel in the slight chill along his spine. And then the small mist crept across the back of his mind, brilliantly coaxing at his attention. It swept upon his thoughts in an all-consuming manner, as it had once before. A surge of pure excitement and undiluted relief slammed through him like adrenaline, rushing through him in spikes with every heartbeat. His nerve endings were tingling with relief.

He was here.

He was  _back_.

That meant that his dreams had been wrong and Yami was still in one piece. He wasn't bleeding to death somewhere.

Yugi closed his eyes, almost dizzy with the relief and exuberance which mixed so beautifully within him. And then he continued outside to see Tea, glancing around only once to see if he could spot the other boy before his attention was on her solely. The brunette was waiting for him next to the door.

She looked unnerved, fidgeting and occasionally rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. He had only ever seen her like this one when he had accompanied her to a dance recital and she had worried she wouldn't be good enough. Yugi took another split second to glance around, wishing desperately that perhaps Yami might appear before him again.

Weak rays of sunlight made the grass look a strange brown-tan shade where it was normally completely green, rich and deep. During the spring and summer, it was almost like being lost in the treetops. The grass would grow long, demanding admiration and attention, sharp and swaying in the warm gusts of air to stir them.

But none of that would help him to find Yami…

"Hey," he greeted, turning to her as a vague feeling of guilt came across him. He had been admiring the grass rather than saying hello to her. A brief flicker of shame came through him before he exhaled softly.

Tea turned with a faint blush to her cheeks and Yugi furrowed his brows in response. Was it a trick of the light or did she truly have reddened cheeks? He took the sight in with clear confusion but spared a smile nonetheless, puzzled but warm, one which he hoped was encouraging and reassuring. Whatever it was, he wanted her to know that it would be okay.

"What's up?"

"I, um…" Tea chewed her lip and Yugi tilted his head in puzzlement, blinking at the unsure expression that crossed her face. For a split second he imagined the brunette looked as if she might back out of the conversation altogether. But then she steeled herself, quality that he had always admired, because she would not back away when she was faced with something that made her so nervous. "Yugi…I've always really liked you. Ha—I'm actually pretty sure you already knew that. I just…I don't know. You're the most selfless person I've ever known and I really admire you."

Yugi blinked, startled by the statement, but nodded all the same to encourage her to continue. He was flattered but still confused by the words. In reality, he was not sure which direction this conversation might take. It could go either way.

Tea could have been telling him that he was simply a friend to her. She could cut him off immediately before he began to show her any further interest. He neglected to think even to himself at that moment that he doubted he would have ever had the capability to show her as such.

But she could also have been saying that she wanted him to become a larger part of her life. Perhaps she would tell him then that she wanted him to be more than just her childhood friendship that had grown so much over the years.

"I just…You're a really nice guy, and I've seen you do so much for everyone else and I just…I thought that maybe…we could, um…go out to dinner or something," she whispered, all but muttering, and tucked a small bit of hair behind her ear in growing embarrassment. She was already scolding herself for bumbling and missing the mark as Yugi stared back at her almost blankly. It had seemed so much easier when she had tried earlier with Tristan; then again, the brunet was not Yugi. And it was so much easier to rehearse with something that wasn't the target of her affections…

"Oh," he managed, a small noise that escaped without him truly considering it or thinking it through. He could already feel the heat rising to his cheeks, burrowing beneath his skin like worms, and it painted them a bright red. That was definitely different from what he had originally assumed.

The realization crept upon him more fully now, however. The words brought a small smile to his face, unable to completely fight it off, and he blinked stupidly in surprise at it all.

"Oh, oh… _oh_."

Tea gave him a surprised look, furrowing her brows and scrunching up her nose at the response. Yugi blinked again, blushing harder at the inability to speak properly. At this point he almost wondered why she was not running. The last one had sounded like one of those long, sensual moans he had released during an awkward midnight jerk and a couple of dreams. And if he was in her place and a guy had made such a noise at him, he would have called it off immediately.

But Tea was simply waiting, obviously not about to turn away without an answer. And he owed her that, did he not? Not that Yugi had planned to ignore her—even in the slightest—because he  _was_ going to answer. He just did not know how. But she had gotten up the courage to ask, something that he had not mustered the faith to do so in the first place.

Yugi let out a small laugh, a nervous little giggle that made her blink and then smile in amusement. He knew she probably recognized it because it was that one he'd always made when a girl flirted with him and he became flustered. She had witnessed it quite a few times, some with Rebecca and once or twice with Vivian beyond that.

Maybe she had even noticed it when they were alone and just hanging out together. Sometimes she had said things that had sounded unintentionally like flirting, even if she hated to admit it.

"Yeah, dinner sounds nice," he finally murmured, nodding and smiling softly. Tea blinked and he swore her eyes had just become brighter than ever, maybe a little wider as well. The blue seemed different somehow as he looked at her closely. "Friday, maybe?"

" _Sure_!" she agreed immediately, leaning over to press a small kiss to his cheek. His cheeks heated instantly, eyes widening at the small display of affection. "I have to go to dance class now, though, so I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Yugi nodded, smiling again. "Sure, see you tomorrow, Tea," he laughed, watching her turn and run along. She glanced back at him a couple of times, blushing each time as she quickly turned away again. Yugi watched her until she faded from sight, running down the sidewalk with a wave as he himself drew in a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

"'Sure, see you tomorrow,  _Tea_.'"

Yugi was frozen in place for a moment.

Then he smiled in amusement, turning around to face the other teen. "You're an absolute ass," he laughed, shaking his head and studying him for a moment. Yami looked well in the very least. There were small bags beneath his eyes, giving the expression of a tired but wide awake and powerful creature.

The red was gleaming and dancing, several shades brighter with darker hues lingering about the outer irises. They flared against the black ring that made them up, the pupils bursting outwards like a bursting star. They were slightly more centered that the last time he had seen them, not nearly as distorted and diluted like drops of wet paint.

His eyes were completely focused and sharp like the rest of him now, promising power and something akin to open insanity. It was the true look of a wild, beautiful predator with no distinct features to be hidden away.

"Are you truly going to attempt courtship of her?" the red-eyed teen snapped, ignoring his comment completely. His eyes narrowed into slits, his pupils expanding further, the black bleeding outwards into his irises as they began to dance like smoke. "What happened to not liking her?"

"What happened to not caring?"

Yami's lips pulled back to show off his sharp canines for a moment. He drew in a breath, sniffing the air almost as if he were part dog, and glanced upwards toward the sky once more. His expression grew strange, curious and unsure, and his right canine caught on his lip as he stared at the clouds momentarily.

"What, you don't approve of her?"

"If I said that I wish to tear her heart out and shove it down your throat, does that speak of approval to you?"

"Well…coming from you, kind of, yeah," Yugi admitted. He was laughing when the other boy curled his lip back and snarled softly, attention solely caught upon his face once more. "What?"

"Don't mock me. I have mind to kill her as such in this instant."

He felt silent again, looking him over and licking his lips. A long draw of his tongue made Yami narrow his eyes though they stayed lock upon his. "I wasn't mocking you, Yami. I was just trying to poke a little fun. Life is easier if you can find a little bit of humor in it," he commented softly, tilting his head and smiling faintly as he searched his eyes. "Specifically if there is a boy with  _very_  homicidal tendencies and a vicious demeanor that looks a lot like you."

Yugi wanted for a moment to reach out and touch his arm. But the action seemed as if it might send the other into lashing out. His patience was so thin, frayed and ready to snap altogether, and so he smothered the impulse.

"Look, I wasn't mocking you, okay? I just—"

"If you should truly keep your vow of courting her, I  _will_ tear her throat out," Yami snarled softly, stepping closer and baring his teeth violently. For only a second Yugi thought he saw his eyes flicker and shift, his pupils almost spinning and bursting with the speed of his rage. The flames which lapped upon his irises were terrible, beautiful and fierce. And then the anger vanished immediately again. He breathed out roughly and the noise was akin a soft pant, making his head spin for a split second. "If you were ever to let her  _kiss_ you again, I am going to have that organ. Do you understand?"

A long moment of silence passed between them. Yugi was unsure of how to respond or whether there was a way to do so. Yami was bristling before him, defensive and possessive and full of hatred. He stared down at him as if he were something of a prize for him to contain and keep for only his own amusement.

"Why are you everywhere like this?" Yugi breathed softly. His eyes grew wider, searching his gaze, and grew somewhat relieved to see him. But there was a spiral of fear there as well, his words echoing within his spinning mind. Those sharp red eyes bore into his skin, drilling through him as if to cut through him entirely.

There was no hint of exaggeration in his features, nor even the smallest inclination towards remorse or regret. He did not possess the slightest inkling of hesitation towards his violent threat. He would rip her heart from her chest if he were to spend time with her in any manner, he knew. Yugi did not mind the threat, not at all, but staring at Yami as he judged the situation made him shiver.

"You've been everywhere I've turned lately. Every time I turn around, I see you there. I  _feel_ you there even when I'm unable to see you. You're there to help me, to hurt me, to save me, to punish me. Why? Why are you always there?"

Yami narrowed his eyes and Yugi stared at him. Did he feel it yet? The smaller boy really hoped he did. He hoped that he knew he was not alone in this. He hoped more than anything that it was not just him that felt so drastically about him.

He was right.

He was always there.

He would always  _be_ there.

"Do you forget who I am? Where we are?" Yami murmured in a soft voice, one which trailed away as if to ride the wind. He tilted his head and the expression was of cunning and predatory interest rather than curiosity. "I am exactly where I am meant to be. Behind you. As your shadow and your protector, yes? Maybe you should think to ask yourself why you always  _look back_."

Yugi blinked and shivered. Those red eyes bore into his skin like fangs, impossibly deep in their reach before he looked away. His crimson gaze seemed to search down the street, staring almost blindly. And for a moment Yugi almost wondered if he expected the brunette in question to come running out like a mouse to an awaiting cat.

Protector?

Yugi was not entirely sure he understood that sentiment. He did not seem like the type to protect, more inclined to destroy anything that got in his path. He was more inclined to destroy anything that got in his path, a self-contained storm like flames that had not yet tasted more than logs in a fireplace.

The small teen shivered as he looked at him; he was his own storm. He was a fire which licked and burned at Yugi and none of it held regard for the others that might cross their paths. He was centered on him like a plague. But it was something that the small teen could not even feel unhappy about.

He did not even mind admitting the fact that Yami was so buried within him as well was something so beautiful he could not wrap his head fully around it.

"So, you really don't approve?" he finally teased softly. He raised a brow, eyes bright as he tried to find some humor in the situation. Yami stepped closer, so abrupt in the movement that Yugi nearly fell backwards in pure shock. All sense of personal space vanished with his close proximity safe for a sliver of air between their clothes.

"Do not be so incompetent," he snarled softly.

Yugi smiled slightly, trying to draw back some of the nerve that had begun to shake. His breath beat against his face with the statement and he nearly trembled with pleasure upon experiencing such a warm touch. "And here I was worried about you and thinking that maybe something had happened to you, but wow, you haven't changed, have you?"

Yami curled his lip at the familiar warmth that coated the statement. Yugi spoke as if they were best friends or lovers or knew each other in any intimate fashion. His skin crawled as that primal instinct which existed between them seemed to grow stronger in that instant, burning and lapping at both of their consciences.

"Isn't that such a very cute concept? It almost seems adorable, don't you think?" the deity hissed, voice writhing within his ear drums. He flashed his canines, smirking faintly. "Worrying about me when you plan to drop your pants to fuck the first person to show you even the slightest hint of interest. I know you have hormones, Yugi, but  _really now_?"

This deliciously beautiful little shit…

Yugi smiled in amusement and shook his head. His lips twitched further. "Showing interest?" he snickered softly, smile curling into a wide smirk that made Yami stiffen in surprise. He'd never come to see such an expression upon his face before. The sight of it made the red-eyed teen feel small and weak for a split second.

And, in response, anger swelling within his veins, his shoulders rose into a bristle. His eyes sharpened like shards of shattered glass, and his jaw set firmly as they looked at one another. Alarm shot through the air between them, smothering both of their senses. And the emotion coursed through both of them like flames against the winter darkness.

"I wasn't aware that was what you had been doing this entire time, Yami."

He could not even pretend to be mildly upset with the red-eyed teen or his emboldened behavior. It just seemed so oddly natural and right when it applied to the boy before him. It was almost as if it had always existed, as if Yami had never been missing from his life in the first place.

He did not mind him like this.

This was just him.

Hurt and confused.

It was wrong, but neither of them truly cared.

"Oh, kill yourself, Yugi." He was sneering, his eyes flickering about slowly as if he were attempting to buy time to draw together a more acceptable response in the meantime. He sniffed and lowered his voice drastically. It was all Yugi could do to strain his ears in order to catch it. The soft quality made it by far more intimidating than his raised voice ever could have. "You kissed me first."

Yugi burst out laughing, watching him with mirth brightening his eyes.

Petulant. He was always so terribly petulant.

But this time he had to admit he was too. But gods, did it hurt. He had not really thought about it before, having somehow assumed that perhaps Yami would not have cared in the meantime, but it was there. His reaction to Tea made it so abruptly and abundantly clear. It hurt so much, but he was already well aware that he was more afraid than he was in pain.

"Such a strong retort," he laughed, unsurprised and more than a little amused when Yami snarled louder. The noise was deep, coursing with power and energy, and he closed his eyes to drown in it for a split second, snickering softly once more. "Here's what will happen, Yami."

"You are not my master. You do  _not_ tell me what I shall and shall not do."

"No, and I would never want to be," Yugi replied immediately, opening his eyes again quickly to search his face for a moment. When he saw that Yami was listening, no longer bristling but still heavily offended and furious from his original comment, Yugi could not help but grin and shake his head slightly. He raised a brow, eyes softening faintly, and searched his gaze for a moment. "It's up to you if you decide to place this little wager with me, Yami."

The boy's head tilted the tiniest degree. His eyes narrowed drastically. He curled his lips back. His body grew completely rigid for a moment. Then his voice came in a soft, distinct tone, and felt keenly interested and without a hint of hesitation.

" _Speak_."

 _There's that little gamer inside of you_ , Yugi thought, immensely pleased as he looked him over and smiled wider. He had noticed that little flare of passion that had come about whenever he was challenged. The pride was there, something he was unable to smother upon accepting games and wagers and small bids.

The smaller teen had come to realize that with his passion too had come the intense boredom that always swept through him and left him desolate. And Yugi knew exactly how to stoke his interest enough to make him pay attention, to have him fold—if only slightly—to his own will.

"A little gamble—a game, if you will. I want a month without you—no reappearing or anything like that. You are  _not_ allowed to interfere with my life for that whole amount of time. And if you can keep up your end, I won't go on a date with Tea again after that time is over."

He considered it slowly, his head tipping further to the side as he watched him. Yugi could see a million different thoughts flitter beyond his eyes. The colors swirled and bent, grew brighter and then darkened as if someone had momentarily struck a flame inside a pitch blackness. Yami did not seem inclined towards the task of speaking as he studied him.

He merely watched him with those curious eyes, his gaze growing sharper with ever second. His mind was racing, the smaller boy knew, circling around and working out every possibility as he judged and weighed his options as if he had no idea what the right answer was.

"You plan to court Tea in this month's worth of time?" he asked finally, voice low and colder than the winter air around him. It thickened like spikes of ice, making Yugi shiver, but his eyes were frosted, burning with disdain.

"I want a month to just, you know, be at least a  _little_ normal, like I was  _before_ I finished the Puzzle," Yugi explained, nodding once and searching his face again. He didn't want Yami to feel offended by the words, though he could easily understand should he be.

He would have felt bad and unhappy had someone ever asked him of something like this. It seemed illogical and harsh, though he knew Yami understood the idea even if he wished to dismiss it as a whole. His happiness had to be nothing more than a burden to the other boy.

"You wish so often for things that you can never have," Yami hissed softly, letting out a low noise akin a harsh scoff. His red eyes narrowed once more, gleaming slits of rubies, and his expression twisted into one of pure frustration and hatred. "Very well, Yugi. Keep your legs closed. You would not want to catch a disease from your little whore."

He couldn't help it when he burst out laughing again. But he did reach forward to push gently upon his shoulder, snorting. "You territorial piece of shit," he snorted, smiling widely as he searched his eyes for a moment and shook his head. "She is not a whore and I am  _not_ going to screw her. A month is  _hardly_ enough time to form a relationship with someone and get in their pants."

"So you admit you want to fuck her," Yami spat spitefully. His eyes narrowed, his irises almost glowing with hatred as he glared at him. There was something foreign in his gaze now, distant and seemingly knowledgeable, and it burned at his insides even as his amusement began to grow tenfold.

"Yami, I'm  _sixteen_. At this point I might just consider buying a fucking dildo and screwing myself with it—especially if you're going to stick around for much longer," he teased, laughing with mirthful eyes.

"…Except I have a perfectly working penis for you to hop on at any time."

Yugi threw his head back, guffawing at the response. It sounded so distinctly innocent, as if the other boy were simply pointing it out and could not figure out why he had not thought of it first. He had made it sound as if he were saying that the sky was blue or that ran fell downwards.

Yugi shook his head, grinning at him widely as he looked over him over once more. The laughter bubbled up more immediately and he bit his lip as Yami narrowed his eyes. Clearly the taller boy had missed the joke within this statement, confused and bewildered by his laughter. He was entirely serious, the sincerity of his statement burning within his eyes, unfiltered by any means.

Yami shot him a furious look to make it clear that he was not amused by his laughter. And his expression grew harsher as the seconds ticked by until his jaw was tightly clenched and his lips had curled back to show his canines.

He did not like the concept of laughter being directed towards him. And he hated when it was pointed towards something he had done or said. Yami did not show his true offense yet, but it was hard to keep from doing so. He would lose his frayed temper sooner rather than later if Yugi continued.

"I—you know what? Never mind. I'll make a deal with you instead, Yami. If you can go this whole month without appearing all of the sudden or butting in, then I'll sleep with you," Yugi announced, nodding once to deter his own racing mind as hi thoughts spiraled sharply.

His stomach twisted painfully for a split second, reminding him of just how disgusting a trade this was. His mother's words about valuing himself and only kissing or sleeping with someone he truly cared about were in immediate repetition. His skull ached and pounded with the pain of them. But it also felt so distinctly right all at once.

And how could one fault him for wanting to give in to his desires?

That primal instinct that lingered beneath his skin drove him towards Yami. It shoved him constantly within that same direction. It whispered that he should never turn away. It told him never to settle for less. It hissed in his ears his need to bury himself inside the other boy in one way or another. And its core existence was that of the most simplistic design.

He and Yami needed to be joined fully in every way best they could.

It was strange, but it also made sense to him. And Yugi knew without thought, somewhere deep in his gut, that he would never regret it. He could not find it in himself to think back on it. He could not think to find it wrong or less than what it should be. It may have been an opposition of what he had always assumed it would be, but he felt that if it were someone else, it would turn into a massive and relentless source of regret for him.

He didn't know if that was because of Yami's nasty little threats or if it was this need lingering beneath his skin. It begged for attention even when the other boy was long gone from his side, desperate and needy. But it was there. And he recognized it. He did not understand the reasoning but he knew the need, the reassurance that came with such an idea.

Yugi watched him for a moment, studying and wondering at the whole situation his life seemed to have become. He had never truly pictured himself with a guy before—never once even considered it. Before Yami had come into his life, forcing himself like a knife through his skin, he did not think he would ever have let it cross his mind.

Yugi was as open-minded as they came when it came to such things, but he had never thought that guys were more than friends. And everything before Yami had been the idea that he would have a girlfriend and maybe a wife one day. He had never had to have the conversation about homosexuality in any way. He had never had to wonder about whether he would use the proper protection. He had never been biased or homophobic.

Though it had not been a lifestyle Yugi had thought he might choose, he had always accepted and been open to any kind of relationship, homosexual or otherwise. It had never been a question to him.

Love was love, whether people approved of it or not.

But he did not think he would ever be able to call this thing between them love. Not at the moment and, as he considered it, he thought it would be wrong to call it such in the future either. But there was the potential to grow and maybe he could learn to utilize that as they stumbled along.

This thing between them would never be perfect. He knew that. And he would never question it.

He did not think he would ever even truly understand the other teen either and it hurt him in a strange way. It was a kind of sad idea in all actuality. But it still did not make him question his own determination to at least try to make it all work out between the two of them.

Whether it was that need to be around him or maybe it was just some kind of attraction that he would never be able to shake, he knew he was not about to question it.

It was not love.

It was primal and vicious and feral.

And it existed only with Yami for him.

It was all the things that shouted obsession and control issues, possessiveness beyond normalcy. It spoke of a need to smother each other, to draw the other closer until they could no longer breathe. But he could not turn away from it and some part of him wished to embrace it wholly.

He had no idea if it would ever actually  _become_ love, considering the darker aspects of it and how volatile it truly seemed. It might simply remain a thing of survival between them, after all. Regardless of what path it took, however, Yugi still fully recognized the potential it possessed.

And he felt that maybe if he tried hard enough and he could make Yami feel it as well, then maybe it could  _become_ love. It would be lopsided and somewhat ill, maybe aggressive and more brutal than most. But still it was a kind of deep affection and devotion that someone might damn well be envious of one day.

Because nothing between them was weak.

There was nothing that he could name that was weak between them.

It was like gasoline and fire between them. It never ended and always burned vibrantly, violently. There would never be something weak to exist between them. There would never be something shallow. There was too much depth. And that would make it strong, to the point that it would perhaps become overpowering.

"…Maybe I was wrong."

Yugi blinked in confusion, startled out of his thoughts.

"I thought she was the whore. But now I am beginning to think that I might be you in her stead."

He burst out laughing at the deeply contemplative expression on his face. His mouth curled into the widest of smiles as he shook his head. "You're a piece of shit, Yami. But you're right. Teenage boys are the whores. Normally the girls are pretty innocent. Unless you've got one of those partiers. Then you might have to worry."

Yami narrowed his eyes and Yugi swore he could see the statement  _I never asked you for that much_ lingering within his vibrant gaze. His head tilted slightly once more, expression still somewhat bored and disinterested with his response. "A month? It will only be one month?"

"Yep. Only a month. So…I don't know…about twenty-eight days?"

"Twenty-eight…isn't that a little short?"

"Yeah, but February is like that."

He blinked at him, long and slow, his mind working tenfold to fill in the gaps of the statement and work to rewire the knowledge for his consumption. For a split second he allowed it to continue. A million different things burst forth in his mind, and then he tossed his head in frustration.

"Oh my god, never mind. Just—fucking,  _never mind_." Yugi shook his head and reached up to pull on his bangs, frustrated as he watched other boy. Yami tossed his head once more, expression growing a little more annoyed, but then he stared blankly again.

"But…" He blinked again and his mouth curled downwards at the very idea of asking for help. "Fine, all right. Whatever."

"Don't be like that, Yami!" Yugi objected, eyes widening slightly as he saw the way that the other tossed his head again. He looked flustered and confused, tired and angry, but slightly offended as well, and the smaller boy felt immediately horrible for not attempting to explain. But he didn't have an explanation now and trying to tell him something he didn't understand himself did not seem like a good idea by any stretch of the imagination. "I don't know how to explain to you how they decided that February would only have twenty-eight days. Don't worry about it, though, okay? It's not important, honestly. After the month is over and you come back to sticking around all the time, I'll explain everything to you."

His eyes grew wide, startled, and he blinked stupidly as the statement connected in his head. The thoughts halted in his head with such swift ease that it made Yugi dizzy for a split second before blinking at him stupidly once more. The expression alone was almost enough to make him flinch and Yugi swallowed hard as he looked at him.

Had he said something to insinuate that he did not want him there? Just a month of normalcy seemed like a reasonable request. It was not like he was not trying to banish him away or something.

"Yami…I…it's just a month. I'm not…telling you to leave me alone forever or something," he muttered, voice coming out somewhat weak at the very idea of such a request. He would never ask such a thing of him, not that he could ever picture himself wanting to give those words life in the first place. He wanted to squeeze his eyes shut for a moment at the very concept, close his mind to it all. "It's just one little month to feel like a normal sixteen-year-old again. After that it's all back to having you…pop in and out as you want…randomly…"

Yugi hated the words as soon as they sprung to mind. His tongue felt suddenly thick, his throat raw. He did not want him to pop in and out whenever he desired as he did now. Yugi wanted him there around more often. He wanted him to be there when he got up in the morning or when he left for school. He wanted to be there when he went to the bed.

He wanted him around so much more often. As he looked at him, he wanted nothing more than to be there for him rather than have to wait for him to reappear constantly. He wanted to have him around. He did not want to have to worry any longer that something might sever the strange link between them or that he was dead somewhere without his knowledge.

Yugi frowned slightly as the other teen's expression began to grow mollified. Was it his first comment that had changed his suspicion and shock? Or was it the idea of disappearing at will that made him so calm now? He chewed his cheek as the other boy nodded slowly and then tilted his head again.

"Hmm…so if it must be one month…I get a little parting gift, do I not?"

Yugi blinked, startled by this new line of conversation, and then laughed aloud again. "What? A  _gift_?" he snorted teasingly, blinking once more before realization slowly dawned on him and he ended up guffawing. "Oh! Yeah, okay, just…you know, not too much. Don't take it too far…"

"Oh,  _please_. I have no intentions of jerking you off right now. I look forward to having you writhe beneath me later. Jerking you off now would make  _me_ unhappy."

Yugi snorted and shook his head in response. He wanted to tease him for a moment. Then he settled again almost immediately. Yami had moved close enough to press their lips together. And, as he did so, the taller teen laughed softly into his mouth. A dark and dirty sound bordering on aggression so keep it made him tremble with excitement and disregard came through them.

His hand grasped lightly at the thin material of his undershirt and Yugi closed his eyes. He wished he could sink into the other, the sinful flavor of ice and mint making his head spin faintly. It was not a parting kiss like he would have gotten from a girl or someone who planned to go away for a while.

It was not friendly or gentle. It was painful, with a brutal edge, and he thought it was all the things that a kiss never  _should_ be. Yet, even as his lips began to grow swollen and ache gently, he could not find it in himself to question it. It was as if Yami thought that he could perhaps find some way to push himself into him where he could not go.

Yami's mouth worked as if it might desire to draw blood but he held back because he knew that he shouldn't. It was all of those things that one would never put to words within a romance novel, because it was dark. It was dangerous. It was brutal, something that existed with a power that made him feel as if he were being devoured.

But it worked as if it was just some kind of show of a jealous lover as in a bid to make their cheating partner pay them more attention. It was almost as if he were desperate to steal his attention solely from the other that had wormed their way into their lives.

And the thought made Yami chuckle into his mouth a second time as Yugi released a soft scoffing noise as his mouth pulled back only slightly. His sharper teeth dug into Yugi's bottom lip, pulling and tugging only once, and the smaller teen huffed once before doing the same when he released. They had both begun laughing now, the sound swallowed equally between the two of them.

A small thought filtered its way through Yugi's mind, one of a mating ritual between animals, and the drifting idea caused the smaller boy further laughter and bid Yami pause. He pictured a pair of dogs and two cats screaming and deer when the male licked the back of the neck and his giggles grew louder.

Something unfamiliar and almost ashamed came between them seconds later. It coiled inside the pits of their stomachs in unison, and the shock within the center, a small ball of ice, made them both pull away entirely.

Yugi burst out laughing again. It was both awkward and mortified, growing louder as a few seconds passed in his growing anxiety. Then he doubled over, shocking himself with his own growing mortified amusement.

"Oh my gods," he managed to get out. He was choking, glancing at the other boy with a shake of his head. "Oh fuck, I'm sorry Yami! I don't… But you…!"

"Animal mating rituals are not what I am used to having within my own mind when we are kissing."

Yugi swallowed back some laughter, trying in vain to stop himself as more small snickers crept from his mouth. He bit his lip, then sighed softly and smiled at him lazily. "I know. I know. I'm sorry, Yami." He paused for only a moment, tilting his head slightly and smiling widely. "I really am. I didn't even know I was going to think about  _that_ of all things."

Yami snorted softly, arching a brow and rolling his eyes. "Right. Okay, Yugi."

"Um…redo? Or are we done…?"

"Are you capable of making this even weirder?"

"No, but apparently you are! I've never heard that word leave your mouth before!" he laughed harder, eyes bright with mirth and head tilted to the side again as he looked him over. "That's kind of hilarious."

"Oh, fuck you."

"Not yet. If you keep up your end of this deal, then yeah, there you go."

For a moment Yami simply stared at him blankly. He looked unsure of what to say or whether to bother pushing words into the space between them. Then his red eyes narrowed into slits. For a split second Yugi thought he might argue, perhaps snarl and bare his teeth and give him the reason of why he wouldn't do such a thing for him.

But then the boy moved closer. He leaned forward before Yugi could react. And his nose was pressed into the soft air before his right ear. The taller boy purred softly, the noise startling him altogether. It was so abrupt that Yugi could do no more than gape, opening and closing his mouth foolishly.

He was being oddly affectionate, open in such a display. It was something that Yugi had never formerly assumed him capable of. And, in his daze, Yugi found himself only able to watch the space that Yami had once occupied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this legitimately right after edits, so if there's something noticeably bad and it bothers you guys, just point it out to me and I can go back and edit it when I post the next chapter. Hopefully there's nothing too terrible though. *crosses fingers*


	15. Chapter XV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: Cursing should be relatively mild but sometimes grows a little more at times, Season 0 Yami...and he's a little more unhinged than usual, so keep that in mind.  
> Note: There are mentions of blood, some graphic images of death, sensual moments and feelings, touches of violence/abuse  
> Update Schedule: I'm going to try for biweekly updates on here and edits on ff since it's already posted there.  
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer’s block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it is appreciated. Please and thank you.

Chapter XV

Tea glanced at him from over the dinner menu, a look in her eyes that made Yugi almost think she was seeing him for the first time in years. Had such distance come between them in so little time? Yugi found himself floundering at the thought, but a sense of calm also came to him. Perhaps the idea was not too terribly far from the truth, in all reality.

He had not felt like himself in so long. And now he was forced to deal with Yami, who made nothing easier for him. But then, why should he expect him to? Yugi shook the thought away. Yami had every right to be upset with him, to be enraged and furious and trigger happy in the idea of killing him. Gods, Yugi hoped that the other boy wouldn't end up doing so, but he supposed if it  _had_ to happen, then he should be glad it was by Yami and not someone else.

At least then he would know his killer and it would not be a stranger of some kind.

It wouldn't be random.

And it wouldn't be pointless.

Perhaps when he died, Yami would return to his world.

And then maybe he would be happy, somehow…

The thought of the red-eyed teen now made his heart ache, as it had for the last six days upon making their agreement. Rather than the usual numbness, Yugi had come to find a sense of despair which festered within him and made his entire body feel too hot and yet somehow too cold all at once.

He had come to recognize the secondary emotion which so amplified his despair and mounting desperation. He was sickened by it, exhausted out of his mind by the very burden of it, and it made his heart ache more to acknowledge it in any capacity.

A pure, aching  _loneliness_ had swept through the very core of him, pushing down upon him with such force as to knock him to his knees. And, no matter his attempts to do so, it refused to lessen in any degree. No matter how often he tried to remind himself that it would only be a month—and it  _would_ , he reminded himself desperately—it did nothing more than make him want to cringe.

Yugi could not be sure if it was because of that parting kiss. Or if it was Yami in general. Or if perhaps, somehow, it might have simply crept upon him somehow during the other boy's absence.

But Yugi had found himself  _longing_ for the red-eyed boy. He wanted him near him. He wanted him to touch him. He wanted to be able to feel his cold skin as it ghosted over his. He wanted to be able to breathe in that strange, unnatural scent when he leaned forward. He wanted that smothering power of his aura to press onto his skin like a second layer of clothing.

He wanted to see his eyes, red and burning and intense. And nothing he did had the ability to shake such desire.

His dreams were often laced with his presence, more feeling than anything else, in which Yugi might think he was hiding away within the darkness. He never saw his face and sometimes there were red specks within the shadows, watching him, and they were so out of place that Yugi could still picture them upon waking.

But surely it had to be Yami, yes?

Because Yugi could hear little whispers in his ears, condescending and nasty, and the voice would hiss things that he did not understand nor fully care to listen to.

Yugi wondered now, if a dinner date was truly meant to be so strange and terribly awkward. It seemed to have dragged on forever. His stomach twisted as he looked at him, then at his menu again. When he had kissed her, the action had been fast and almost nonexistent. And now, Yugi could not even truly understand why it was that he had done so in the first place.

He felt, as he tightened his grip slightly on the laminated sheet, as if he had truthfully been attempting to challenge Yami more than anything. The whispering in his ears had seemingly followed him into his awake state and he had been trying to quiet them but also see if perhaps the other boy would come to him in response.

It had been sloppy and terrible, awkward beyond any stretch of his own imagination.

It had been so estranged that Yugi almost wondered if perhaps something in his mind had been dissuaded towards making it a smooth and gentle experience of any kind.

It had come out with his teeth clicking against hers and quiet apologies while she'd giggled and told him it was okay.

In all actuality, Tea had somehow seemed to think it hilarious.

Somehow—much to Yugi's chagrin and relief—she had found it amusing that he could kiss Yami without so much as blinking and yet to do the same with her rendered him almost to the point of the inexperience. It had seemed almost as if he had become unable to do more than simply brush his lips against someone else's.

And that thought alone was enough to make Yugi's stomach hurt. Because he had come to wonder if perhaps she had assumed that he had taken it wrong out of pure nervousness. And that was not the case in even the slightest.

Yugi spent the walk back with her to her house chatting about her dance rehearsals and classes. He himself could not find it in him to even slightly talk to her about more than just that. He feared if he attempted it he would find that her name was not what might come out of his mouth.

He thought it ironic how terribly keen his mind seemed with the task of throwing the red-eyed teen in his face so painfully. It almost felt as if part of him thought he should drop everything and run to him as that primal instinct seemed to dictate. And Yugi had found himself only able to focus on the  _smallest_ aspects of Tea. He would have to think of these in order to make sure that he could keep conversation alive.

But he felt that Yami's name would simply slip from his mouth at some point. If he was not thinking about her dance career or her boobs, he feared the other boy's name would leave his lips. And he wasn't sure what else there was that he could truly pay attention to beyond this at the moment.

So…naturally, Yugi chose dancing.

Because…well, focusing on boobs seemed a little rude.

And what was it that he was he really supposed to say if he somehow found himself choosing them as a subject of conversation?

"Oh, hey, nice cleavage. Did they grow over the weekend?" or "Flash me" or "How big are your breasts? Like…cup size—what's your cup size?"

Oh, yes, that was truly charming, wasn't it?

Yugi rolled his eyes at himself each time he considered a subject change.

While he liked breasts and thought they would most definitely be nice to look at and touch and love on, he was too polite to think it was good material for a conversation.

Besides that, it was just a hideous idea in the first place. Who in their  _right mind_ might say such a thing and get away with everything intact anyways?

So, when Tea stood on her porch and kissed him on the cheek, saying, "I had a fun time tonight", Yugi lied easily with "I did too" and somehow he wound up scheduling another date three days later.

He had lost his ability to remember the dates. He had forgotten what days had passed. It was becoming ridiculous how little his mind seemed to retain information any longer. Things would deteriorate from his mind drastically, as if he had simply blinked and forgotten it all in an instant. His heartbeat was foreign to him as he considered the reality as he so often did late at night.

The concept of it was entirely bewildering and estranged to him.

Nights grew into marathons of those dark dreams of Yami keeping his promise. He would rip her heart straight from her chest in front of Yugi, the blood streaming from her chest and Yami's long fingers. He would immediately freak out, yelling, but all Yami would do in response was look the organ over. He would flick his wrist, consider it only a moment, and then drop it. The noise of it touching the concrete would be loud and wet, sloppy and disgusting.

And Yugi would be breathless, horrified, gaping at him.

And, as if to tease him, Yami would then bring his hand back towards his face. His eyes would be the same shade as that brilliant crimson on his fingers. He would smirk at him as if he were a shark, vicious and hideous. His white teeth would look like jagged spears of ice. And then his tongue would lap out. The little pink muscle would come back smeared red to match his eyes again, and that terrible expression would never change.

But, sometimes, the dream was a million times worse. In some of them, he just stood there. He would watch when Yami approached from behind her and, unlike the other times, he would not bother to warn her. His memory of the nightmare before then would come to mind each time.

And so he would simply watch the event as it began to unfold. He did not like to see the way that Yami would grow delighted in her spinning around as if to be able to stop him. Yugi would instead allow his eyes to flicker away, towards Yami, staring. And another part of him would cow away, as he knew without thought that not even once would Yami stop even at his objection.

The red-eyed teen was a driving force that he felt  _no one_ would ever find the chance to force to a halt. He was his own person storm. He was his own immense power and strength. He was a wildfire and a monsoon. And the incredible effort and sheer force that would have to be put into such an action would be incomprehensible.

So, in these dreams, Yugi would simply look back at him. And he would watch as Yami would wink at him playfully, teasing him and giving him a full minute to object. When he did not play his role, Yami would sneer at him, smirk wider, and then focus completely upon Yugi again. Tea would slump, falling to the ground.

Yugi would whisper a weak apology, especially when he warned her and she truly  _did_ have the chance to scream. But other times, Yugi truly could not bear to do it. There was just so much power and horror in the nightmares that he did not care to consider it fully.

The second date went much like the first and third. They went to a movie the second time, a play the third. There was a single double date with Mai and Joey the fourth time in which he was driven crazy by the tall blond. Joey had seemed to think that this momentary fling was more permanent than it could ever be. Whenever he could catch his eye the blond would waggle his brows and all but smirk at him. And more than once Mai had been forced to get his attention and try valiantly to keep it on her.

When Tea and Mai went to select dessert up front at the display table, Joey spent the entire time giving him tips to get her panties off. Yugi stared at him as if he had lost his mind, shook his head several times, grew too frustrated to deal with it, and tried not to scream that he did not  _want_ to try. He had no plans to try to bed her in the first place. All of those terrible nightmares burned behind his eyes, and his obsession with Yami prevented him from even  _fathoming_ trying to get into her pants.

It was just nonexistent an idea and half the time he was terrified that if he looked at her, he would find Yami there.

The boy's hand would go straight through her back. He would grasp her heart in his fist, the blood dripping to the floor in immense droplets. And Tea would wilt like a flower before him. And, all he would be able to do was stare in horror as the other boy simply dropped the organ with his red eyes glowing with hatred.

Then Yami would smirk like the Cheshire cat, tilt his head slightly like a bird of prey, and his tongue would rasp out to run over his skin slowly once more. The blood would pain it red and Yugi would pant with desperation, horrified and terrified and utterly disgusted. He would have no ability whatsoever to stop him as it was.

He knew that Yami would not do it, that it would not happen, but those damned dreams…

The fifth date was to the pier. Tea tried to spice it up by taking him to the water. She had been hoping that it would lift his spirits somewhat, make him more like himself. She had laughed and said that they should go to the beach when it had begun to warm up some. And it had taken every ounce of Yugi possessed to keep from whispering that that would never come to happen.

He had not wished to tell her that it was an absolute impossibility.

Yami would be back in his life soon. He would be back by the time everything warmed up. And Yugi was terribly tempted then to apologize to her for wasting her time like this.

"Yugi…"

Yugi blinked and looked over, confused and wide-eyed. "Yeah?"

"I…"

Tea stopped with her foot only halfway pressed to the ground. And her bright blue eyes peered at him with such intensity that it made Yugi's stomach toss to face it. He knew exactly what it was that had gone through her head as they looked at one another. She was open book and always had been. She had always been unable to truly hide anything from him.

It was one of the very many things that he had always come to appreciate about her. It was so easy for him to know what she thought. It had almost always made it nearly impossible for him to mess up completely regarding anything to do with her. He could tell the moment he had said or done something stupid. He knew when he hurt her feelings by letting his mouth run too long. And he knew how to bring her back from her unhappiness due to this as well.

It was a trait that had once attracted him to her.

But now it also made him back away as well.

Because, now, Yugi found it far too easy to read her. And now he had come to resent himself for this ability.

And another part of him felt sick as he considered the idea. He had come to the point that he wished rather spitefully for her to somehow hide away her emotional stance. He had come to desire someone who could not be read so easily, and certainly not by everyone else as well. The very thought had caused his stomach to ache formerly.

He wanted to be able to say that he knew them inside and out. And he wanted to be able to be the  _only_ person capable of making such a bold statement. He wanted to be able to say that no one could even gather a  _hint_ of the emotion which was bred upon the other's stature.

Yugi thought that perhaps he wished for someone who had walls up when around others but would lower them for him. And Yugi knew of only three people he could name that were like that—Mai, Tristan…and Yami.

"Oh…"

"Oh…"

"…I'm sorry."

Yugi stared at her and thought of just how strange a conversation this actually was. He was almost amazed by the simplicity of it, the way that he did not lose such ability to keep his mind straight for lack of nerves. The mere concept of his ease upon being so capable of doing such a thing made the teen wonder.

It seemed so easy to simply know what it was that Tea was trying to say. Their awkward pauses and silence did nothing to deter his understanding in any manner. And it made him sick.

Because now Yugi thought very quickly of the red-eyed teen who so casually haunted his dreams. And he wanted more than ever to experience such easy understanding with that frustrating piece of shit.

Yugi did not even think for a moment that he understood what it was which caused his biggest hint of desire.

And, truthfully, he thought that he should hate himself for it. But he was far from able to.

He wanted to say that he wished it was Tea. But even he could not lie to himself so well.

He wished he could at least form that thought fully in his head without feeling sick. But the queasiness came immediately.

He wished for a moment that he could be able to say that he had fought for his feelings for her. But he wouldn't—he  _couldn't_  and there was no way around such an admission.

And he should have—by the gods, he  _should have_ —been able to say that he wished it was not Yami, but the absolution of the matter said the opposite.

Yugi wished for so many things that would never truly make sense to him. He could have spent hours circulating around these small ideas, pacing and obsessing until he came to know even the smallest of these details. But it would all give him nothing.

He should have been content with her, happy that she had chosen him to be her first boyfriend. He should have been head over heels because she was his first crush and she had liberated him with the reality of wanting to be with him too. He should have desired her for her loyalty, her simplicity, the way he knew her so well inside and out. He would never have to worry about double meanings or sharp words.

He would never have to worry about being told she wanted to kill him.

He would never have to cow beneath her temper and rage.

But Yugi was not happy.

He was not content.

He did not care to see what it was that they could have become.

Instead Yugi was unhappy with what she lacked.

She was not vicious. She was not possessive. She was not dangerous. She was not born of the darkness. She did not have sharp canines. She did not have gleaming red eyes. Her eyes did not remind him of fresh blood which Yami had once spilled before him.

Yugi wanted someone who was complicated. He wanted someone who frustrated him to no end. He wanted someone who made him want to tear his own insides out. He wanted someone who threatened his friends and family. He wanted someone who so verbally wished him dead.

He wanted a boy who was so mentally innocent that it made him almost childish. He wanted a boy who had no true understanding of the things around him, who lashed out when he was somehow scared or confused. He wanted a boy who had tried to kill him several times and tried to tear the head off of his best friend. He wanted someone as lost and off-center and just plain  _strange_ as him.

He wanted all of the hideous things that came with Yami.

He wanted the darkness his world held.

He wanted the passion which his very being possessed.

Yugi wanted that ugly, bitter, sweet heart that was Yami.

He wanted the conflict and the danger. He wanted the rush of adrenaline and creeping cold that came with him. He wanted fights of claws and fangs and sharp teeth that threatened to crush his jaw when he should nip him. He wanted a potential monster. He wanted a boy who claimed himself a god. He wanted a boy who spoke of a world which was dark and lonely, who said he had been summoned to his side by an ancient artifact of Egyptian mythology.

The same boy who had said several times that Yugi would never have any chance to stop him killing.

Yugi wanted the one who was loose and wild and disgusting in more ways than one. He wanted the one who was beautiful in the most dangerous and painful of ways. He was the one that he did not truly understand but desired nothing else but to be able to.

"I'm so sorry, Tea," he muttered, shaking his head and staring at her.

In all reality, she should have seemed perfect for him. But she was far from what he wanted. She should have been the perfect girlfriend for him.

And, if Yugi had never bothered to finish the Puzzle, he thought she might have truly been. If he had never finished the Puzzle and therefore come to summon that vicious red-eyed "god" into the world, he might have gone right alone with his crush on her. There it might have grown into more than a simple relationship, into something that could have become marriage. It might have been as keen as to produce children or something of that nature.

But that felt like lifetimes ago that they would have been matched together so well.

And now it came to Yugi as an entirely foreign thought in his mind. It was entirely displaced, as if their opportunity had come to pass long ago, and only now had they noticed and put in the effort to make up for a lost cause.

"I should have said something earlier…"

The brunette gave him a small smile that was so sad it had the power to make Yugi nearly wince. "I think you've said enough," she offered, shaking her head with a soft look that made him feel terrible and broken. "It just wasn't meant to be, I guess."

Yugi felt himself hesitate before he could think to argue. "Yeah…"

A single second of silence came to pass between them. They stared at each other, searching the other's eyes without pause. It was a mutual agreement for quiet, as if they were mourning something that had never truly taken place.

"Is it Yami?"

Yugi stared at her for another long minute. And then it began to make his eyes feel as if they might water with the sting they had then gained. And, very slowly, he blinked at her. His mouth opened and closed again once, and then he nodded slowly as he was unable to think of a way to phrase the way her question had caused his stomach to twist. He looked away swiftly.

He was unable to face her any longer after admitting this to himself and to her that dirty little secret which he so wished to keep to himself. And, with this terrible admittance, he found himself almost unable to face the same direction as her, for fear of their eyes locking.

"I thought so," Tea murmured, and a small laugh left her mouth with such an exhausted edge that he nearly flinched. "You know, when you were talking about him at the arcade, I thought for sure there was something in your voice that was…just different. There was…some strange emotion there, almost like fondness. And it made me think that maybe you hadn't  _really_ just had a one night stand with him, and maybe you guys had actually been dating at some point. It sounded too close and personal for it to just be a one-time thing, Yugi."

"…We never dated," Yugi breathed out uncomfortably, shuffling his feet and licking his lips. The smaller teen swallowed hard and reached up to scratch at the back of his head. He drew in another long, deep breath, and closed his eyes for a moment. "We haven't even really… It's not that we ever dated, Tea. And sleeping together never really changed anything. There's just…something between the two of us. I don't honestly know what it is but it's intense and…I don't know how to explain it, really."

Tea watched him for a long moment, her smile falling away into a small, puzzled frown. She furrowed her brows faintly, watching him closely with the intent of trying to pick up on something to tell her exactly what it was he meant to say. But Yugi hardly had an idea or the way to put those feelings into words, and so, how could she? How was Yugi meant to explain such a primal connection to another person?

He could hardly explain it to himself and he was so desperate to do so.

So what chance was there that he could ever come to explain the same to her or anyone else?

"I…" Yugi paused, hesitating, and for a moment his voice became nonexistent. The bewilderment had torn through him, eaten away at him. And so he swallowed hard once more. "It's…I can't call it love, because that's  _definitely_ not what it is. I guess it's just…something that you would read about in a novel or a magazine article. It's so often described as just being something completely… _different_. I don't know what it is that Yami does to me, but it's intense, and I love it even when I don't want to."

He imagined he sounded like a sociopath, saying those words. No sane person would consider the attention Yami gave him as anything less than frustrating and hateful. Affection he showed towards it must have made it that much harder for her to understand and believe in his words. The very fact of it was almost haunting to him.

"I could almost saying it's like…finding my other half in someone so completely different that it seems impossible. And it hurts. It hurts  _so_ fucking much, Tea. It's everywhere—the pain is amazing and inescapable. It's burning beneath my skin and it's got to be the  _single most_ pleasurable thing I have  _ever_ felt before. I don't…I could say it was like drugs but that's… It seems like it would be cheapening it and making it smaller than it truly is."

Yugi was twitching now, his heart hammering and every part of his body lit with fire. His nerves were dancing and his mouth threatened to open into a wide grin which he knew would hurt her. So he angled his head away, balancing back and forth on his feet, rocking from heel to toe lazily and licking his lips once more.

"I just don't know  _how_ to put it into words," he finally admitted, drawing in a deep breath and exhaling loudly. "All I really have to do is that it's…well…it's darker, Tea. And it's dangerous. It's aggressive… It's something that no one would really want in their life unless they had a taste of it. And if you are just…hearing about it, it seems a lot…stranger and darker than it actually is. But I—I want it. I want it more than  _anything_."

Tea watching him closely and her blue eyes were pained but quickly growing hesitant. Her expression began to bloom with mild suspicion, eyes hooded and gaze troubled. Her mouth tugged downwards faintly before, finally, she found herself mumbling, "He's…he's not hurting you…r-right? Because, at the arcade before…"

"He won't hurt me," Yugi promised softly, smiling almost sadly as he shook his had and pursed his lips. A feeling of exhausted yet rejuvenating exhilaration came through him in a brilliant burst, a sudden rush of adrenaline at the very concept of trying to  _describe_ what existed between them. He licked his lips after a moment and tilted his head, feeling both weary and ecstatic with the very idea. "He really won't. I told you guys that before, but it's different and that makes it kind of scary. And it's not something that anyone else would ever really consider wanting or seeking out because no one would believe me if I tried to tell them about it."

There was a long pause between the two of them, a pregnant silence which made Yugi's nerves tingle. He was excited but the thought of explanation was somehow exhausting now as he considered once more.

"It's like I lost half of myself somewhere in my life. And…suddenly I've found it. But it's just so  _different_ from what it originally was that it's almost unrecognizable. But it's still there. And I can feel it. I can hold it. I can touch it. I can…I can  _embrace_ it and just…just  _drown_ in it if I truly wanted. Tea, it's…really painful and different. And that's what would make most people turn away from it…"

She shook her head slightly, bewildered by the sight of his floundering expression. The explanation was weak at best and Yugi recognized that more from the look on her face rather than the words leaving his mouth.

"No one wants that kind of pain constantly, I know. And that's what it is—it's  _constant_. It's  _forever_."  _It's…_ eternal. "It's always there. It never truly changes. And it will not let up…"

The brunette stared at him with a considerably troubled and concerned expression. Her blue eyes had grown wide and her teeth gnawed upon her bottom lip as she considered what to say in response.

But what was there to truly say?

What was she supposed to put into words?

It wasn't as if she understood and she could not feign any sense of knowledge about it. And she didn't want to make him feel that she doubted her sincerity. It was so clearly written upon his face, his eyes as bright as stars, and it was hard to look at him and not feel sick after hearing those words.

Instead she chewed her lip until blood filled her mouth. And, when she thought appropriate, she nodded to encourage him to continue even as Yugi awkwardly began to scuff his shoe over the wood under their feet.

"He's like the moon and I'm the tide. There's just this really powerful pull that can't be ignored," he continued after a moment. It was hard to stay still for longer than a second and each breath in his lungs was full of a taste he did not know how to describe. But it was powerful and he thought briefly of the way that Yami smelled, of darkness and moonlight drifting through a canopy of leaves and frost like fresh snow upon the forest floor. "There's just this really  _amazing_ powerful pull that can't be ignored. It's always there, never changing, and it's eternal and beautiful. But it's so painful and dangerous and I just…I love it  _so much_."

Tea blinked once, a long and slow movement. And he could already tell from the way her weight shifted that she had caught onto the very thing that Yugi had not come out and said, the thought he'd been dodging. Yet, as she looked at him, he knew that she would bring the statement to life and it made his blood heat with envy that she was strong enough to do so.

"You love the effect he has on you…but you don't love  _him_ …"

"No, I don't love him," he admitted, at first with a sense of bewilderment at the very idea. And then his stomach tossed as he looked at her, shrugging after a moment or two. "But I don't want to love someone else. It would feel…so… _fake_ if I tried. I know that sounds crazy, but I…I guess I just  _know_  somehow. And I…I'm so,  _so_ sorry that I put you through this, Tea. I wish I would have just come out and told you when I first realized…"

She shook her head, giving him one of those small sparing smiles that spoke of not entirely understanding. But she was trying to remain open to the idea despite the skepticism which shone in her bright eyes.

"Do you think you'll ever love him?" she asked instead, effectively cutting away any traces of apology he might have been about to offer. She was chewing her lip again, nervous at the idea of the answer, and Yugi frowned at her in near puzzlement, as if he had never considered it before.

Then he tilted his head to the side in something almost akin wonder and contemplated the idea for a long minute. Finally, slowly, Yugi shrugged as the very idea cut into his skin and made his blood heat further.

"I don't know." He didn't want to dwell on the thought for too long anyways. But he did think that he could easily be comfortable within a loveless relationship like they might have. But another part of him wondered at the idea, almost desperate for the idea of those stupid relationships they showed so frequently on television.

But he didn't know if Yami was a creature that could be loved and receive such affection. He would most likely lash out against it, perturbed and petulant and more than slightly scared of the very concept. He was so hard around the edges, like jagged pieces of shattered glass. And he was full of such hatred and passion but Yugi wondered at the idea of his concept of emotion and understanding.

"I honestly don't know. I don't think it's  _impossible_ , but for the moment I don't think it's going to happen now, or really  _any_  time soon. Maybe it will…down the road, when things are…different and we know each other better, but not now."

"Oh."

The single word was both relieved and despaired. And Yugi wondered if he should truly take that tone into account for more than wistfulness. Of course she was somewhat happy to know that maybe he would not fall in love with him. It was, perhaps, the only thing which might allow her to keep alive the distant fantasy that the two of them could still become something.

And then, on the other hand, she was sad for him. Because she, like perhaps everyone else, believed that there was no such thing as a relationship without love. And that had to be one of the saddest things someone could ever think to have their friends suffer through.

"But, you know…I don't think it would be all too bad if we  _didn't_ fall in love either," Yugi admitted, laughing softly when her blue eyes stretched wide and she looked stunned. Her expression was confused, bewildered, and Yugi could see the way his words had visibly shocked her. Her cheeks became slightly reddened, as if she had only just come to realize her tone. But Yugi simply shook it away with a casual shrug. "I don't think that loveless couples are always so bad off, Tea. I think that…maybe, sometimes, being in a loveless relationship for the moment wouldn't be the worst possibility."

She frowned, tilting her head at the statement. He was right. There were abusive relationships and aggressive partners who used and discarded each other. But was Yami one of those people? Would he treat Yugi as a toy for his own fun and then easily dismiss of him the moment he was able?

"It's…almost kind of like friends with benefits, maybe—or possibly more like friends who trust each other deeply enough that they don't have to hold titles like boyfriend and girlfriend. And then there's no need to worry about unfaithfulness or anything like that."

He fell quiet for a moment, thinking his words over for a breath before scuffing his shoe again, taking the moment to give him more of a concept of which to base his statements around.

"I just… I don't know. I honestly think that even if we aren't in love or we never fall in love to begin with, we can still find a way to complete each other. Maybe it won't be all gooey hearts and romance, but it will be strong and deep and satisfying, anyways."

"How do you know he won't…you know…wander off?"

Yugi shook his head, smiling at her in an effort to suppress his growing laughter.

"He won't."

"But how do you know that?" Tea pressed, her eyes growing more skeptical as the seconds passed. His amused expression had done nothing to help her believe the words. A new concern had begun to tug at her gut now, and, if not for the fact that she trusted his judgment wholeheartedly, she might have wondered if Yami had somehow enchanted him.

Was it possible that he had wrapped Yugi around his finger somehow?

Was the smaller teen unable to pull away for some reason or another?

Was it possible to become addicted to someone else?

But…if they had come to begin their relationship by way of hooking up together, was it possible that Yami would do the same with someone else?

What if he grew tired of Yugi as he had possibly others?

What if he only  _acted_ antisocial as a way of luring people in with the idea of discovering what made him that way?

People were drawn to mystery, after all. They so often enjoyed seeing if they could break down the walls that other people put up. And Tea could easily see Yami as the type to manipulate such vulnerability in others for his own personal gain. It would not have surprised her in the slightest to see that he had been luring people to sleep with him and then keeping them around until he grew bored.

And she didn't want Yugi to fall into that…

Yugi shook his head at her, tilting his head and drawing in a deep breath. "There are just some things that you know instinctively," he finally answered, breaking her out of her thoughts. She blinked at him, startled, and the smaller teen smiled at her casually. The nonchalance chilled her and she stared, somewhat horrified by the idea, as she double checked to make sure she had not just somehow misread his expression in some way. "Yami is one of those loyal souls, the ones that wouldn't stray even if you pushed them until they broke or tried to leave them behind somewhere. He would always find his way back…to me. He's not one of those people who would wander off just because he can."

"I honestly don't know how you get that idea about him," she muttered after a long minute, sighing softly and shaking her head. Her eyes were shining with concern and bewilderment. Yugi blinked at her, almost startled by the statement. "I mean, I know I've never met him aside from that day in the alley. But Yugi…he almost… I just…I don't understand."

Yugi drew in another long, deep breath. What was he meant to say that would help her to understand? In reality there wasn't much. And Yami had seemingly dug a grave for himself in doing as he had in the alley that day. His friends would likely never forgive him, no matter what Yami did later. His attack on Joey had been cemented in much of their argument with him beforehand…

"Yami is a person who just doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve. You will  _never_ see the things you want in him until he allows you to. And you won't get any answers out of him until you manage to ask him the right questions. There is no fighting him because he has to be  _the_ most stubborn bastard in existence."

He fidgeted, reaching towards for his jacket sleeve and pulling lightly. The fibers were frigid with cold as he lightly stroked upon the soft material. He swallowed hard, then shook his head.

"There  _is_ no conversation with him unless he wants it, because otherwise he'll likely just ignore you. He's complicated and stupid and incredibly childish when he's angry. But he's that kind of person that brings out the worst in me but then shows me the best when I least expect it. He's not someone that everyone is actually  _meant_ to understand. He's more of an observer than he is the active participant, and he's the one who understands but doesn't allow others to do the same with him."

Yugi shook his head after a long moment, laughing softly. Yami would never be someone that he could understand fully. He knew that without troubling himself with hours of contemplation. Yami was someone who would  _allow_ someone to know him in the fullest sense possible. He would most likely always only ever give him enough to make him look forward to learning more, while holding away the most vital parts. He'd tease him with breadcrumbs and leave him hungry later.

And Yugi could not find it in himself to care how seemingly destructive that might prove to be.

"I know some of his best and worst qualities. He's shown them to me willingly. He's shown me a few things that I didn't ever want to know and he's shown me the things that have made me desperate to see further. I don't have anything really to say about him beyond that, honestly. He's…he's Yami."

Tea shivered, picking at some of the words he had spoken and shaking her head against with that clear confusion still coloring her eyes. She didn't understand, Yugi realized, how anyone could ever want a relationship like that.

With the two of them, there had rarely ever been anything one of them didn't know about the other. And it was easier for them to open up almost completely to each other without worrying about misunderstanding.

Yugi realized then that that was most likely the security that most people needed in relationships. And he found it startling now to as he blinked and raised his head. It took him only a moment now to realize something that he had never come to think of before.

He did not miss that security blanket while with Yami.

He was capable of understanding that perhaps it was unnecessary where the other boy was involved. And the reality of it was a blanket in its own right. Yugi was not overwhelmed in the slightest by the idea.

"Okay, well…I trust you so I know that you know what you're doing," the brunette finally said quietly, nodding only once. But her eyes were more troubled than ever and she considered him for a long minute. "But if it gets to be too much or anything like that…just know that I'm always here for you, okay? Just…don't forget the rest of us because you might have a boyfriend."

Yugi burst out laughing, shaking his head and feeling a small, brief warmth surge through him. Initially he felt the smallest sting of dissatisfaction creeping through him. The way she'd said "might have a boyfriend" had all but shattered him for the briefest of moments. Yami  _was_ meant to be permanent in his life. He was meant to be there for as long as it took them to find the answer to his problems. And somehow…Yugi thought their interactions might expand past that as well.

"No way! Forget you guys? Hell no. Yami may become a new constant in my life but he isn't going to be something that takes me away from you guys," he promised, smiling at her lopsidedly and wondering at the very idea of it. Was Yami capable of doing that to him? Could he truly alter his perception enough to make him ignore time he had failed to spend time with his friends? And what would they all think of it? But then…

He laughed harder.

"First of all, I know he wouldn't want me doing that in the first place. I tend to piss him off. And second, I wouldn't  _ever_ let that happen."

Tea laughed at the way he winked at her so dramatically. "Okay. As long as you're sure," she teased.

"Honestly, Tea…I don't think I've ever been more sure about something before in my life."

* * *

"Grandpa! Hey, I'm back!"

Yugi wandered about the upstairs for a moment. His eyes flickered back and forth to search his surroundings and the small teen wondered at the silence to greet him. Then he froze in place, heart in his throat.

What if he had needed to go back to the hospital while he had been out on his date?

A cold shiver of fear swept through him in a crashing wave. It sent his mind into a plummet, a drastic drop of which made his heart squeeze and nearly shatter. If he was back at the hospital for whatever reason, then it was far too late for visitors. He would be kicked out immediately upon entering the building.

Oh gods, was there anyone with him?

Where was his mom?

Was she with him?

He hoped so.

Oh gods, if he couldn't be there, then he hoped more than anything that she would be at the very least.

Yugi shivered again and then sped off for the kitchen, skidding for a brief second. A harsh shrieking noise splintered his eardrums as his wet sneakers slipped once more. He had forgotten that he'd stepped into the water on the shore for that brief moment with Tea. And the shrieking made his head pound for a moment even as he grabbed the phone from its cradle on the wall. He dialed the number strictly from memory, his mind racing faster than ever.

What if he was in intensive care or something?

What if he was dying?

What if the Puzzle had finally decided to claim his life now?

Yugi breathed in hard, barely swallowing back a noise that threatened to creep up his throat. He forced the sobs away, swallowing harder now. His heart ached where it was stuck within his throat. The pounding resonated painfully, throbbing beneath his skin. He clenched the phone harder as it continued to ring, fingers turning white from the exertion.

Only as he did so did Yugi's mind abruptly focus in on his own cell phone. And now he wondered if maybe he had wasted too much time picking up the phone like this. What if something had already happened and he'd missed it? What if—?

But wouldn't it have been about the same amount of time regardless? He'd still have had to unlock his phone. And then he would have had to go through his contacts and—

"Hello? Domino Central Hospital—"

"Sugoroku Motou, is he there?"

There was a lengthy pause in which Yugi swore he heard some of the nurses laughing in the background. Someone whispered about something though he could not hear them. His stomach dropped and his fingers tensed somehow more. He tapped the nails of his free hand along the plaster, swallowing hard. Then he pursed his lips and shifted his weight, uncomfortable, as impatience came through him.

"Um…yes, he is." He let out a short breath, then relaxed as he pressed his forehead against the plaster, the coolness of the exterior doing well to calm him. "Hold on, let me redirect your call to his room, okay?"

"Thank you…"

He waited out those few minutes it took for the phone to even seem to ring at first. He realized, most likely, his anxiety had simply made him miss the noise. But his relieve upon hearing the answering click as it was pulled from its cradle made him stop short.

He opened his mouth to say, "Grandpa" and eventually snap at him for not trying to contact him when he'd gotten to the hospital. He was fully prepared to yell at him in frustration.

But then, a voice spoke. And the timbre of it was so laden with strength and power that it shook his very core and chills traveled down his spine as they said, "Why  _hello_ , Yugi."

He found his fingers knotting the spiraled white wire around his fingers. He licked his lips and looked at the receiver, heart in his throat. " _Yami_."

"Mmhmm." Yugi swore he heard the other boy shift to cover the mouth piece for a moment. His lips curled into the smallest of smiles, tilting his head as his eyes brightened. Then the other boy's came in a brief, drifting mumble, and finally the moments passed until his attention was fully granted towards him once more. "Your grandfather is about to sleep."

"Fucking  _hell_ , what are you doing there?"

He was breathing harder, his lungs tight in his chest. Alarm had come through him, drenching his spine with cold horror. He almost wished for a second that he could accuse him of having done something, if only so that he could have an immediate answer to the questions filling his head.

But the thought of accusing him, the very idea that Yami would go against him in such a way at a time like this, seemed highly improbably. His eyes flickered away and he licked his lips lazily. And the thought of actually saying something along those lines was gone before he could even blink.

"Yami, I… Is he okay? What happened?"

"Relax, little game. He's fine. He fell off of a ladder while at the game shop," the other teen drawled in a rather bored tone. Yugi could imagine him simply studying his nails with open disdain. A smile curled upon his lips further and he shook his head slightly with amusement. "He was getting something off one of the shelves in the storage room and subsequently slipped. Your mother is not here, in case you were wondering."

"Not really." Yugi paused, then laughed awkwardly, tilting his head. "So…then he's really okay?"

"Yes. I believe I was told something about a bruised tailbone and…something or other. They explained but I did not care to listen. All in all, they simply said he landed…wrong, but in a more complex way, I suppose," he snorted in clear dismissal before laughing at something which the smaller teen could not hear. "I expect you wish to speak to him?  _Verify_?"

Yugi shivered at the little sneer of the words. The concept of doing something of that measure made the small teen bristle briefly. Then he shook his head. "Not to verify," he corrected him softly, voice gentle as relief made his body slacken. The other boy drew in a small, short breath, something that hissed sharply within his ears, and it seemed to Yugi almost as if he wished to snarl his disbelief but had abruptly come to the conclusion that it was unnecessary. "I just want to say goodnight to him."

"Mm…very well."

Yugi frowned at the sound at the noise in the background. Yami said something to his grandpa, causing him to let out a deep chuckle. There was something of a static ruffling noise which came over the phone. And then he caught the deep rasp of the elderly Motou's voice as it greeted his ears.

"Yugi!"

"Grandpa, hey! You're okay? I mean…never mind." He rolled his eyes at himself and pulled himself away from the wall now. "I know you're okay. Yami just  _said_ you were fine, of course. I just… Ha, I was just kind of surprised when I came home and no one was here…"

"Sorry about that," the elderly Motou snorted softly. He chuckled again softly before clearing his throat. "I wasn't even on the floor for more than a minute before your… Well, before Yami got there. He got me the phone to call the ambulance."

"…Yami was there?" Yugi breathed out, voice shaken with mounting confusion. It occurred to him suddenly that it should not have been placed in that situation. It should have been him. He should have been the one to take care of it, as Yami was not even related to the older man biologically and that should not have been his responsibility by any means. "Why was he…?"

"He…came to speak to me. About…something to do with your Puzzle," he said with clear trepidation, and the smaller teen wondered as he wound the wire harder around his fingers. Was Yami glaring at him in annoyance yet? He imagined his red eyes were full of disdain and boredom and frustration by then. A long minute passed and Yugi strained his ears but could hear nothing more than the television playing loudly in the background. "Tomorrow, can you come over to the hospital? I want to talk to you about it."

Yugi stared at the wall. His fingers had turned bright red where they were caught in the cord, and let out a small breath that bordered disappointment and frustration. "You're not coming home tonight, right?" he verified slowly, looking towards his fingers now. He wondered why they could not be as bright as Yami's eyes.

"They've insisted on keeping me the night. I only got here a couple of hours ago as it is. I suppose it makes sense…"

"…Is it bad?"

"No, it's…not bad news. It's…well…I don't know how to tell you this." Sugoroku was silent for a moment. "It will have to wait until tomorrow."

Immediately Yugi lowered his eyes. "Does it have to do with Yami?"

There was a long pause, one which seemed to shake Yugi's very core. The small teen bit his lip and paced a couple of steps, eyes still caught on his fingers where they had turned bright red beneath the strain of pressure. But they were not the shade of crimson that Yami's eyes were and he found himself somehow further disappointed as the seconds passed.

"Yes. He wants me to explain something to you because he says he's impatient with your lack of searching for the answer on your own."

He pulled the wire slightly tighter, then released it, staring. His mind circled dramatically with the words, his thoughts curious and bewildered. He was tired of his lack of searching for the answer? What answers was it that he was supposed to be looking for again?

Yugi slowly unwound the wire completely from his fingers, narrowing his eyes. He strained his ears to hear for a brief moment as Yami chuckled at a bit of dialogue from the television. "Is it why he looks like me?" he finally asked, listening harder. He was still staring at his fingers, but now his thoughts were more fully focused upon the sharp lines of his face and the long jagged goldenrod bangs.

"Yes. It's…rather complicated."

"Yeah, everything seems to be with him and the Puzzle," Yugi quipped, though it sounded oddly warm even to him. He paused, listening once more for any hint of laughter from the other teenager. It had been brilliant in his ears, gorgeous and wonderful, but now the other seemed to be denying him such privilege. "Sure, Grandpa, I'll be there in the morning."

"Good, good, good…"

"Ha, you sound tired."

He yawned. "I am."

"Then I'll go ahead and let you go."

"All right."

"Goodnight. Love you."

"Goodnight. Love you too, Yugi."

"Hey, Grandpa?"

"Yes?"

He hesitated, pulling on the wire again and biting his lip. "…Can you put Yami back on the phone for me real fast?"

"Sure. Give me a second."

Yugi could hear something pass between them. It was the smallest of exchanges, the briefest of words. But most notable was Yami's change of tone. It curved into a low, frustrated and snide pitch. And then, as if he had never spoke in another timbre, the boy's voice void of emotion, he murmured, " _Yes_?"

The smaller teen bit his lip and chewed his cheek for a long moment. His mouth opened and closed but he did not come across anything to say. He could not form the words which he wanted to say, unsure of how he was meant to phrase them, and swallowed hard as they attempted to bubble out without filter.

And then, squeezing his eyes shut tightly as he leaned against the wall once more, Yugi felt relief crash through him. It was so sturdy and he was so off-balance. In a small, soft voice, he managed to whisper, "Thank you."

There was a long moment of silence, then, without much care, Yami murmured, "Mm _hmm_."

"I…Goodnight, Yami."

There was the briefest of silences. For a moment Yugi pictured his red eyes widening faintly and then narrowing once more. His expression would be surprised first, and then incredibly skeptical.

His tone was neutral, however.

"Goodnight, Yugi."

* * *

"Hey, Grandpa."

The elderly Motou turned his head immediately. His grin was wide, threatening to split his face, his plum purple eyes bright with warmth. For a moment Yugi noticed that his eyes were locked on his.

And then they very slowly lowered onto the Puzzle as if drawn there by force. The curve of his lips faltered faintly along the edges. He blinked, looking to his face again immediately and gesturing him over with a somewhat excited motion.

Yugi felt the smallest bite of guilt, knowing that he had made the very pointed decision to bring the Puzzle with him when he came to his visit. For whatever reason, the small teen had grown suspicious that his grandpa might try to weave his way around answering his questions. He would avoid the conversation and Yugi would leave without any answers and Yami would remain annoyed with him about it.

His grandpa had never spoken about it before with him. He had not spoken to him about it before. And Yugi was suspicious that Yami's absence would make his grandpa more likely to attempt to deter the conversation. He would try to talk circles and hide behind his distraction to avoid the topic he so desperately wished to hear about. The red-eyed boy would not be there to keep their conversation on track by any means, and Yugi felt his grandpa might be braver due to this.

There had always been a small sense of reluctance that came about the subject of the Puzzle. It was only human to want to back away and avoid something when it scared or worried someone. He understood that in every manner. And he was well aware that nothing had changed where the Puzzle was involved.

In fact, it had become almost somehow taboo to even bring it up during conversation. If it was not with Yami, who so often glared and ignored the moment Yugi brought up the connection between him and it, Yugi did not think he would get any answers. His grandpa had not once truly broken about the Puzzle since he had first finished putting it together.

When he had shown it to him, he had said, "I see you did it, my boy! Good job!"

And then he had not once spoken of it again. The subject had been dropped completely from there, as if it were as venomous as a snake and coiled to strike. He had not even seemed to give it a second thought. And Yugi knew that the deaths of his friends and colleagues had to be distressing for him to consider.

"Take a seat," Sugoroku mumbled, moving to sit up and groaning softly. Yugi sprang forward, snatching the remote from the bedside table and pressing a button. The bed beneath him folded just enough to support a proper seated position.

"You aren't supposed to  _do_ that! That's what the remote is  _for_!" the small teen snapped, eyes flashing with mounting frustration at his dismissal. The small teen had shown him  _numerous times_ how to use the remotes. He'd shown him exactly how to get comfortable seating arrangements.

And yet, still, the elderly Motou refused to use it.

His grandpa rolled his eyes, making it clear that the lesson was again a lost cause. Yugi sighed. His bickering had always proven useless, and yet he'd tried again and again. But, whereas he could have snapped at him, his grandpa merely smiled. And Yugi felt both disappointment and frustration come through him before he grabbed the chair nearest him to pull it forward.

He was mere inches from the bed, close enough that he could feel his grandpa's body heat but still separated by the bars on the side of the bed. He drew in a deep breath, then tilted his head.

"So, can I ask you something before you start about the Puzzle?"

His plum purple eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, of course. What is it?"

Yugi hesitated, unsure of how to ask such a question that could clearly be taken in the most blatant of ways. He wanted a few more seconds, struggling with the task. And when he still could not find another way to phrase these words, he sighed out, "What was Yami doing there?"

Sugoroku stared at him for a moment, surprised by the query, and then gave him a smile of open amusement. "Ah, so that's what you're so worried about. He didn't push me off the ladder if that's what you were thinking," he teased. He shook his head, smiling a little wider when Yugi frowned at his words.

He blinked, questioning the words, then tilted his head to the side fractionally.  _Had_ that been what he had been thinking?

At some point he had begun to lose track of the many ideas that had clambered into his head all throughout the night, keeping him awake for hours. Most of them had not been about anything more than the curious idea that he hoped that Yami had stayed at the hospital with him all night. If his mother couldn't, then maybe the red-eyed teen had, and he would not have to sleep alone…

"I was just trying to get a box of booster packs down to restock. He had come in after I had already fallen. At first I had assumed it would be you, but then I realized how wrong I really was." The elderly Motou paused, snorting, and a small rueful smile crept across his face as he shook his head. His purple eyes flickered towards Yugi and away to the seat next to him, almost as if he were looking at the boy in question. The light in his eyes was full of amusement and something almost bitter. "Now that I consider it, I have to question how it is I could have ever assumed he was you, regardless of how closely he resembles you. He has that…feral quality to you. It didn't help when he started circling me like a wild animal."

The words were said as a harmless joke. But Yugi found his eyes widening as his back grew stiffen. His teeth tore into his cheek, his breathing coming out slightly rough at the very idea.

How long had he simply left his grandpa laying there?

Had he let him suffer due to his own disinclination towards helping someone else?

Had he forced his grandpa to persuade him to call the hospital?

But then, how could he have known to do such a thing in the first place?

Yami still so often snarled and bristled like an enraged and rabid dog when he heard the alarm go off by the bed or the phone rang. When his text tune went off, the red-eyed boy would jerk and chomp his teeth. The tone of his phone ringing made him stiffen. And his eyes often glowed when he was startled enough by the sound.

But did a lack of knowledge really excuse such a thing as that?

He would have known that he was hurt. So why wouldn't he have tried to help him at least sit up?

"He couldn't move me. He would have broken my back, Yugi."

Yugi's head snapped up loudly from where he had been unconsciously staring at the Puzzle as the questions rolled in. He ran a finger over the eye there, unnerved, and swallowed hard as he stared back at him rather blankly.

"He may not be human but he isn't a monster."

Yugi stiffened. "You know he's not…?"

"No human has eyes like that," the old man laughed softly, shaking his head in amusement. When he grinned at him, it reminded Yugi of the Cheshire cat. "Nor that kind of raw power. I could feel him for what seemed like miles before he ever even first approached the shop."

The small teen shivered and shifted his shoulders awkwardly. What was he meant to say to that of all things? Did he really expect him to respond to that in the first place? He frowned, looking at his grandpa, and the stare he got in return made his skin crawl briefly.

His plum purple eyes were boring into him, daring him to ask. They practically  _begged_ him to let loose the words which rested on the tip of his tongue.

"Do you know what he is then?"

"A god."

Yugi felt his entire spine clench with tension, his jaw clamping shut as he shivered once more. His eyes grew wide, darting between his grandpa's. He was horrified and confused. And a part of him wanted to laugh despite the dry cough that tickled his throat.

He was joking…right?

Yami had said that he was a god several times. But that could have easily been his ego speaking. For all Yugi knew, he could have just been inflated and overconfident. But his grandpa was saying it…

And he could have just been going along with it…right?

Surely the red-eyed teen was not truly a…

"What has he told you exactly?"

Yugi hesitated, for a moment unsure of what he had even said before his mind began to filter the words through his consciousness slowly. "…Not much. Something about being dragged into this world by the Puzzle…" He fell silent for a moment, drawing in a deep breath and lowering his eyes. "And a place where others were dying and he was the only one left…?"

"I that perhaps he might be confused as to his origins as of the moment." Sugoroku paused and then shook his head, his smile faint but light with amusement. "I don't think he has the clearest of heads right now. It might be residual. But I believe the place he came from may have been the Shadow Realm, Yugi."

The small teen stared at him for a long moment and then shook his head slowly. He knew about the Shadow Realm from his stories about ancient Egypt, of games with punishments and dark magic as old as time itself. He knew of it because, sometimes, when Yugi had been brave and stupid enough to lie, he'd been told such tales.

His grandpa would say that he would end up going there, because the monsters lived there and they ate little boys who lied. Because of this, he had been so scared he would beg him not to let them get him. He'd blubbered out the truth every time, no matter how much it shamed him. No matter how small the crime, he would beg for forgiveness.

He had done it when he had eaten one too many bananas.

He had done it when he had stolen a cookie from the jar.

He had done it when he had stayed up late watching television.

He had done it when he had skipped homework in favor of video games.

Yugi was amazed that he had not done it the first time he had watched a porn video.

"But you said that anyone who went there could never come back." He looked at him with darkened eyes, curious and bewildered. His fingers tightened faintly where they were pressed upon the surface of his Puzzle. The metal was cold and yet burned beneath his fingertips. "That the darkness just eventually…caused them to deteriorate completely and there was not even a  _trace_ of the person they had once been. How could he have  _possibly_  come from there? Even  _with_ the Puzzle, it's not like he was living  _inside_ of the Shadow Realm if that's where he really did come from…"

"Well, I cannot be entirely sure of how that would have happened. I would say that he's…well, being a god, I would suppose that it would have saved him. Either that, or perhaps his essence is truthful that of one powerful enough to withstand that kind of torture." He fell silent for a long moment, then tilted his head and considered a moment longer. "I have never heard of anything coming out of it unless summoned by magic. And you weren't trying to summon him when you put it together."

Yugi shook his head.

Why would he have thought to summon someone from the Shadow Realm?

If Yami truthfully were from there and not a god—or worse, truly a god  _from_ the Shadow Realm—then he was far more dangerous than he was anything else, wasn't he? The Shadow Realm would have distorted every perception he had, wouldn't it? And Yami was so lost as it was that Yugi was not sure how it was that he was meant to deal with the very concept.

His grandpa's eyes were shining as he looked up at him in confusion. He startled, blinking, as his lips pulled into a wider grin.

"What did you wish for when you put it together, Yugi?"

He stayed quiet. He blinked and frowned, considering hard what it was that he had might have asked for. A couple of months before, he would have wished that Joey would get the guts to ask Mai out without him having to play the middle man. Anytime before that, it might have been that his grandpa's health would get better. Maybe even to pass a test for a subject that Yugi knew he would otherwise fail.

But, in reality, he could not call to mind a single thing that he might have truly wished for without it all being a passing joke to him.

"I didn't really think about that much as far as a wish went," he admitted, frowning at him as he tilted his head and chewed his cheek in confusion. His bangs fell across his right eye for a split second and he blinked again as he shook his head. "I guess I was more concerned about getting you out of the hospital than I was actually making a wish when I finished the Puzzle."

Sugoroku was silent for a long minute and a half. He blinked and then finally sighed, sitting back against the pillows uncomfortably. "Then I guess its magic took its natural course when it was completed."

"What does that mean exactly?"

"That you started it when you were eight years old. And then you finished it when you were sixteen. Half of your life was spent on that Puzzle, so half of your soul was taken in the meantime."

"Excuse me?"

"The Millennium Items were always said to be… _double-sided_ ant not at all easy to control," he muttered, frowning. He licked his lips and sighed again, somewhat more heavily than he had the moment before, and Yugi felt his eyes grow wide and horrified. "That's why everyone on the actual dig was…"

"So…you're telling me that you let me have a Puzzle that was cursed and…took half of  _my soul_ because I spent  _half of my life putting it together_?" Yugi asked slowly, stretching the words out and dragging the statement for a full minute. Then he blinked, more horrified than ever, and sputtered, "I… _Grandpa_!"

"I didn't think you would put it together!" he admitted, grimacing at his grandson's scandalized expression. He looked quickly away when the boy's eyes sharpened and his face grew immensely scornful. "I thought that after the first couple of years you would just give up! But you didn't and…"

"So, I brought a  _feral god_ here after half of my soul was taken and—is that why he looks like me then?"

Sugoroku laughed softly, shaking his head, amused at the way his grandson had changed gears so abruptly. The sixteen-year-old sounded both frustrated and shocked to the point of almost gaping.

"I think what happened was that he did not quite…disappear in the Shadow Realm. And, Yugi, the only creature that could possibly survive in that place would  _have_ to be a god of some sort. And the Millennium Puzzle is known as the Puzzle of the Gods, so it must have bonded with him at some point while you were trying to put together or maybe even before that. Since the Puzzle had already taken half of your soul, it probably gave him a new form through you, making him…look like you."

Yugi stared at him for a moment, sighing as he lowered and shook his head, eyes trained on the colored tiles of the floor. A flash of pain shot through his temples. "'You think yourself a good person? No, you are just as disgusting as the rest. Greedy and ambitious and just as jaded as I am,'" he muttered under his breath, echoing exactly Yami's statement from what had felt like years before. He fell back a little more fully into his chair and closed his eyes tightly. "'No, I am not an incubus. Your little demon lore is nothing to me. I require your energy for the sole purpose of this body being completed. As it is still being created, it has yet to become truly solid. If my existence were to be a fact, my reflection would not be what it is. No, you brought me here, you bound me to you, you gave me form and life and all of the things for which I never  _wished_. Your only true payment to me, Yugi, is the fact that I am in need of your energy when you are euphoric and drowning beneath your own emotions, when we bleed into each other so completely that you allow me to take from you.'"

"What are you saying, Yugi?" His grandpa leaned forward, but his voice was still so terribly low that his words were all but nonexistent to him. "I can't hear you."

"'Eventually, when this body is solid and no longer suffers from such ridiculous restraints as it does now, maybe then I will find my peace and be able to kill you without causing myself any harm.'" Yugi blinked slowly, drawing his eyes upwards again. And then he locked gazes with his grandpa, studying his confused expression and feeling his stomach knot. Slowly, a new question began to filter through the mudslide that most of his current thoughts had become, and he shook his head slowly as his eyes darted between his. "Why are you avoiding his name?"

"…Names give you power over things and others," the elderly Motou finally replied, sighing softly and shaking his head. A frown slowly etched itself across his face and his grandson found himself almost bristling with alarm at the dread that seemed to make up the color of his irises. "Yugi, when you gave him a name, you made it impossible for him to ever be able to go back—"

"But he doesn't  _want_ to go back!" Yugi spat in response, eyes flashing angrily. He couldn't blame that on him! He just couldn't! "He said so himself once, but even if he hadn't, I saw it on his face when I asked him about the Puzzle and where he came from. He said he couldn't go back and when I asked him why he would want to, he said that he wouldn't even if he was given the chance. He doesn't want to go back to…wherever he came from, Grandpa!"

"Yes, but he's dangerous and it's… Yugi, he is a  _god_ , stuck in a human body with powers beyond comprehension. You cannot honestly think that him being he could be good for anyone—not him, and not us and not anyone!" Sugoroku protested loudly, his tone bordering sharp before his eyes widened upon seeing his grandson's expression. Yugi's jaw had clenched, setting, and the muscles were jerking at the edges of his cheeks. His eyes had grown narrow, brimmed with fire, and they burned angrily into his. "I am not blaming you, Yugi. Please calm down, okay? I am not even going to say it was your fault. You never knew what you were doing. And I should have taken it upon myself to tell you not to continue the Puzzle any longer. I just mean to say that we do not know what will happen with him here."

"Do you honestly think he's going to be such a big problem?" the small teen finally breathed from between his teeth, feeling a cold chill trail down his spine as he drew in a long and deep breath. His breath began to hammer in his chest. The very idea of the emotion on his grandpa's face made him feel sick.

If he was afraid of him, then what did that mean for them?

Did that mean he was afraid of Yugi as well?

If he was right and Yami was actually created from half of his own soul, then didn't that mean…?

"I don't honestly know. But I don't think that if it does, the effects will be immediate. If there truly is to be an issue to occur, I think it will be a long and slow process, just as it was the Puzzle being completed. And maybe I'm even worrying for no real reason. I just mean to say that he is powerful and there is no true way to control him should it need to happen. It's just… It's  _dangerous_ to gamble with such terrible odds, Yugi. And thinking it will be completely fine is extremely selfish and incredibly foolish. It seems delusional to assume that in any way."

Yugi stayed silent for a moment.

His eyes narrowed in consideration, his mouth growing dry as he blinked slowly. He was not sure that he could do everything right. And he knew that he would never be able to contain the red-eyed teen.

But he did know all of what was at risk, and, despite it all, he had to have Yami around. It was a matter of survival, he was finding, in the most illogical of senses. He had no real choice in the matter any longer, as it had grown beyond a simple craving to mental, emotional and physical need.

It was so deep-rooted he thought he would never find the source. And what bothered him was simple the idea that he really had no answers and he thought Yami would hoard the few that he had.

He shook the idea off and turned the subject back around for a moment, letting out a deep breath. "The name thing, Grandpa… What were you saying about the name?" he mumbled, blinking slowly as he tried to get back on topic.

"Names give you power over someone else," he murmured. His voice dropped to a lower timbre which vibrated unevenly with a nervous tension that made Yugi feel sick to his stomach. "You have witnessed that already. You bound him here."

"I am exactly where I am meant to be. Behind you. As your shadow and your protector, yes? Maybe you should think to ask yourself why you always  _look back_ ," Yami's voice repeated in his head, so clear and powerful that Yugi almost thought he was seated beside him that moment.

Yugi shivered, eyes flickering towards where he thought he might find him should Yami suddenly appear within the room. But the spot beside him was empty and he drew in a deep breath as he wondered. How was it that he had ever managed to obtain so much power over him in the first place? Yami had claimed he was the only threat he had to him when it was brought into consideration. He had said that Yugi had a power over him that he should never had.

"Not a threat? You?  _You_ are  _not_ a threat? Are you serious, you stupid boy? You are the  _only_ threat. You have something of mine that I want back. I want it back,  _Yugi_ ," the red-eyed boy had laughed, so long ago, in that alley, the first day they had crossed paths, when Yugi had been walking home. The small teen shivered again, moving to bunch his shoulders forward, hands between his legs and his knees pressed together for a moment. "Oh no, do not mistake yourself,  _Yugi_. I am well aware that I am not above you. But I am not beneath you either. Hell, I am not even level with you yet."

That explained so much now that he considered his words and actions as one. That explained his reaction to the name that day when had attacked Joey and Tristan. The name had caused him to freeze in place for those precious few seconds. It had caused him to lash out hideously, as violently as he could. He'd planned to do the very thing he could not, to kill Yugi and Joey in retaliation.

He cringed and reached up to run a finger over his neck as if checking for his own frantic pulse. It throbbed and tingled beneath the pad of his finger and Yugi's head spun as he swallowed hard. He couldn't breathe as deeply as he needed and he felt his body tremble briefly.

He could hear Yami's voice in his head, slithering like a snake, sneering and hissing, snarling and laughing, so sharp and yet smooth like a blade's edge.

Had he not questioned his name, why Yugi had given it to him?  
had he not thought Yugi was trying to claim him by demanding to know whether he assumed he thought he possessed ownership over him?

Hadn't he demanded to know if he assumed giving him that name would allow him control of him?

Hadn't he made a point of sneering that it would not save his friends and family from certain destruction should Yami dictate it?

No wonder he desired so fervently to kill him. Yugi had never thought of more than completing the Puzzle to show to his grandfather and the results had been catastrophic for the red-eyed teen. He wanted nothing more than to kill the very source of threat that he found himself tied to so fully.

Yugi thought briefly of the night Yami had crawled onto his bed. It seemed so common now that his mind was trying to pin down one time. Oh, but the conversation had been anything but.

Yami had proclaimed him the only threat that night, and now Yugi understood why it was that he was so resentful and fearful of him. Yugi had never thought himself so mindless as he did that moment, staring at his grandpa and thinking back.

He had never had any idea what he was doing. He'd been pathetically stupid, refusing to quit despite the magic that he knew existed in the Puzzle. That damn magic could have swallowed him whole…

Yugi squeezed his eyes shut and tugged on one of the links of the silver chain around his neck. It flared with fire and then burned with ice, but he could not find it in himself to release. He could have killed himself. He could have gotten his family killed. He could have gotten his friends killed.

But somehow he had instead wound up bringing and binding a creature as dangerous as the red-eyed teen to them, to  _him_. Yami had resigned himself to a role that he did not need. He had resigned himself to a role that both were well aware did not need to be filled.

He was forced to follow Yugi like a dog, faithful but desperate for the chance to sink his teeth into his flesh at any moment.

And he had never even meant to…

"Explain the name thing. Why…why won't you say his name?"

There was a pregnant pause and Yugi nearly cursed under his breath as his grandfather drew in a deep breath and sighed, "It will bring him here."

"What?" Yugi hissed out, blinking his eyes open and staring at him in open confusion. "What do you mean it'll bring him here? I've said his name  _plenty_ of times and he's never…"

And, suddenly, abruptly, something made sense to him.

His eyes flickered to the floor, voice dying in his throat.

His shadow was stretched out lazily against the sterile tiles. And it was so dark as to be a void, an abyss of pure blackness. It swallowed the room as if it were the very core of darkness. The bed and the chair he rested on were mere splotches of gray in comparison.

"I am exactly where I am meant to be. Behind you. As your shadow…"

Oh gods, Yami had never truly left him, had he?

Maybe he was not physically present, but he had always been there, somehow, watching and waiting for the moment to spring forward. He was, in all reality, omnipresent as he had once felt that day, wasn't he?

He truly was…

His grandpa gave him a solemn smile when Yugi slowly looked up again, his plum eyes grave.

"What should I do then?" the teenager demanded in a weak tone, despaired as his stomach clenched painfully. "I don't want him to have to… I meant that he… He shouldn't be forced to come to me every time I say his name…"

"It's a strange…circumstance," his grandpa muttered softly, eyes growing distant as if he were remembering something from long before, "but he does not seem to be completely ruled by that law. I know that you were saying his name last night—on your date with Tea. When he called the hospital his eyes would start glowing abruptly. And he would freeze in place like a statue, listening. It was one of the oddest things I have ever seen. And the moment he would realize he was not needed, he would become as lively and predatory as he was before. He did not even take a moment to adjust, simply refused to acknowledge it afterwards…"

"Okay, but that doesn't mean anything," Yugi snapped, blushing at his own ferocity before sighing loudly. His eyes flickered away and then back, glaring furiously. "I… What do I do to make it so that he  _doesn't_ have to respond to it  _every_ time someone says his name?"

"Make it longer, I would think."

It was said so casually and without circumstance that the small teen blinked several times and then frowned at him in puzzlement.

"But…what does that even mean? You—are you saying to give him a last name or something?"

"No, I mean making his current name a nickname instead."

"You mean…making Y—making it a nickname…so like… I don't know, giving him a name like—"

" _Don't_ say it here! And certainly not in front of others," his grandfather snapped at him, looking almost horrified by the very idea. He shook his head sharply twice and then breathed out roughly. The tension made his entire body tremble briefly, so softly that it was nearly nonexistence. "You must  _never_ say a true name like that in front of someone else, Yugi."

"But…it's just you and me…"

"Yes, and he's half of you which means it's only  _your_ right to know his true name. saying it in front of someone else would be an insult to both of you."

Yugi stayed quiet for a long minute and then sighed loudly, deflating. "I don't know how to work with that…"

"You'll figure something out, my boy."

The small teen stared at him, shaking his head slowly, and bunched himself closer together. If he could make himself physically smaller, then maybe the miserably coming through him would not be as overwhelming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, so, the next chapter is the last. Surprise! Yep Sugoroku knew.  
> I didn't describe any of the dates in detail and made it all more of a kind of monotonous blur in order to fit Yugi's mood and thought process for the chapter.  
> The belief that names have power is something that you can find almost anywhere. It was considered to be a great deal of trust for someone to tell someone else their "true name". For the sake of the story, Yami's true name is so powerful that it can cause multiple things to come about in question depending on the context of use or can simply summon him to Yugi's side. You'll see in the sequel what power it holds over Yami in certain contexts.  
> The way Yugi described Yami to Tea is a set of half-truths he's compiled and things he's also noticed about him due to living in the same space as they have. Due to this, he also notices how terrible his absence seems and so it kind of comes in highlights of what he desires and knows of him. So, yeah, he's describing him in this way to put her more at ease than anything else.  
> You might want to pay attention to some of that.  
> Yugi himself tends to be the BEST liar.  
> It'll come up in later installments why this is kind of (incredibly) important.
> 
> Just like last time, I'm posting this right after finishing edits. So, if there are really bad errors of any kind, feel free to point them out if you'd like. If you don't, then that's fine too. Either way, I'm posting this before I get onto edits with STB for later posting. After I finish this story, I'll begin edits for the sequel and begin posting as often as possible around other (considerably smaller) projects and my overloaded work schedule.


	16. Chapter XVI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: Cursing should be relatively mild but sometimes grows a little more at times, Season 0 Yami...and he's a little more unhinged than usual, so keep that in mind.  
> Note: There are mentions of blood, some graphic images of death, sensual moments and feelings, touches of violence/abuse  
> Update Schedule: Final updates and edits are official finished~  
> Writing Note: This story was an attempt for me to get past writer's block and to finalize my more descriptive prose (which I am still working on). Any feedback concerning it would be appreciated. Please and thank you.  
> Okay, so! This took FOREVER for me to get done with editing. I got caught up in work and STB and it just took forever. My apologies to everyone waiting on the climax (hahaha). Anyways, yeah, I'm sorry about that (and my terrible pun).  
> This is fresh from edits so if there are any mistakes, they're one hundred percent mine and feel free to point them out if they're too terrible.

Chapter XVI

How did one go about summoning a god?

For over an hour Yugi had been attempting to summon Yami to him. He'd used his name. He'd gone as far as to picture him appearing in front of him. He'd even offered blood and wine at one point.

But not once had the red-eyed teen responded to him.

His shadow had stretched across the wall and turned so dark it looked as if nighttime had spread in a hideous brushstroke of black. But still the other boy did not come. Yugi had watched it multiple times, counting off the seconds it took for it to do so. It would stretch and darken, become a hideous lash of black against sky blue, but it had not brought with it Yami himself.

It lasted only as long as it took him to blink, so swift in expression that Yugi almost thought himself foolish for even believing his grandpa's words. He had been seated on the bed for hours now, staring at the spot his shadow lurched upon the wall behind him. The room was bathed in off-golden light, the sun creeping downwards in its usual slow descent.

For what felt a lifetime Yugi had struggled to come up with a new name to give the other boy. He'd settled only hours into the night, half-asleep and drowning with disbelief. And he'd woken up and tried repeatedly since then to summon Yami there. But now, it seemed, Yugi was unable to even grasp upon the other's slightest sense of interest.

Without a response, the task of trying to bestow some new hint of freedom upon him was almost daunting in all reality. And then, with that, came the horrible idea that perhaps this would do him so much worse rather than any better. But his grandpa had mentioned that Yami had reacted to his name each time he'd spoken it while with Tea. And if he had reacted to it, then why shouldn't he be concerned that doing so might allow  _someone else_ to somehow summon him through any other number of means?

Yugi bit his lip. He was stumbling through the dark with each attempt. The entire situation itself was one huge, gaping black hole. It was bleak and desolate and it was impossible to know if the repercussions would be great or lenient. Attempting to summon him there, trying to give him a new name…

What if it all did a million times worse than he had ever expected?

What if this was all the wrong thing to do?

What if it bound Yami more permanently?

Or it somehow released him and he became more destructive than he already was?

Yugi faltered.

He didn't even know what deity Yami  _was_.

He had no idea what he resided over. He had no depth of knowledge towards his power. He had no concept of how he was worshipped. He did not even know if Yami was at his fullest strength.

He doubted the latter but what if, for all his ferocity and anger, Yami was the simplest, smallest of gods?

The small teen sighed and bit his lip harder, until blood crept across his tongue and he nearly cringed. Yugi had no idea if Yami even truly understood what it was that he wanted from him, why he needed him to appear there. He did not know if he did, if it was because he just did not care to come or if he was perhaps fearful of whatever it might be Yugi was calling him there for. He didn't think he had ever truly asked Yami to come to his side before. And, if he were Yami, the fact that he was trying now would have alarmed him and made him all but furious.

But what if something was wrong? What if Yami could not sense his emotions? What if he could not even see him from where he seemingly kept watch as his shadow? Perhaps it was all too brief and small a connection. It could be so loose and weak, something that only allowed them to truly come together where there was a trigger that provoked response from Yami.

Maybe that was the only reason he had been there when Ushio had cornered Yugi in the alleyway like that. Because Yami had not been there at all. Yugi had not sensed him in the slightest. And he had no explanation beyond that. He did not even know how their connection worked or even if his shadow stretching and draping itself along the walls like this was simply his own imagination.

Maybe he was just trying to comfort himself.

Maybe Yami's statement about always being behind him had been metaphorical…

He did not have words to actually  _summon_ Yami, he realized. All he had was a name that he had bestowed without meaning to and the vaguest idea that the god reacted to it when spoken. Because, as his grandpa had said, Yami did not seemed to be ruled by whatever law governed a given name.

And so, without more, Yugi could not truly imagine Yami going out of his way to respond to him. The reality of it was that there was no reason beyond his own loneliness. Yami was not obligated as Yugi was not in danger. And the small teen was not going to throw himself in front of a car or try to get himself killed for the sake of summoning a deity.

And, no matter how much he considered, ancient rituals for different gods in old times did not quite match up. There were too many of them. He would have had to scroll for hours through information on the internet. And some of that wouldn't even be truthful.

And all of it would be confusing and possibly call for a sacrifice or blood of some kind. And what could he offer but his own? And what if Yami wasn't even a god to begin with and—?

 _So come and_ find me.

Yugi startled from his thoughts, jerking. And then he froze in place. His spine tightened and his heart began to pound. His breathing grew shallow for a moment. Electricity and heat buzzed through his veins.

That familiar misting of chilled air had come upon his senses once more, though it slipped away immediately once more. The challenge was clear, intoxicating as it was delivered in its rich baritone pitch, and the small teen laughed softly.

So Yami truly could hear him, was actively listening. He was probably laughing at each attempt with splendorous amusement. And now, considering it, he realized it was exactly what the stubborn bastard might do to him.

Of course he laugh and tease him rather than help him at any rate.

Yugi sighed and headed for the door, listening and listening and knowing that his mom was not home. He checked anyways, to be on the safe side. He was far from willing to deal with her if she found him slipping out of the house so late like this. She would not want him to leave the house alone, especially when it was already rapidly becoming dark.

If his friends had been there, however, she might not have cared beyond warning him not to stay out too late. But she would never have approved of this. It did not matter that most oftentimes Japan was just short of being the safest place in the world.

The small teen rolled his eyes and made his way through the door which divided the shop and living space, slipping his shoes on and wandering for the front door. The bell chimed softly as he pulled it open, somehow so familiar that it managed to ground him for a brief moment. The Puzzle swung and hit against his abdomen gently.

He did not have to think about it to know where he was headed.

Yami was at the park.

It was the only place that made sense now that he truly considered it. It, aside from the arcade and the alleyway, was the only actual place outside of the house that they had crossed paths. He was not really sure what it was that made Yami choose the park. But he wondered if maybe it was possible he knew the area from his memories.

He had been to the park lots of times as a child. But how Yami might have known that was a question within itself. Perhaps Yami had cared enough to pick out what little information he found necessary from the memories he had dug through.

Now that Yugi wasn't running, there was a strange and very self-conscious realization which came over him. It was odd to be wandering the streets like this, especially at his hour. With winter so close the nights were so much longer, the days almost halved by the darkness.

It was only a few minutes after six and already the sky had given birth to ribbons of orange and red, gentle splatters of purple and blue. The stars were beginning to peek out from behind clouds that drifted easily, dissipating entirely before his eyes. It looked of navy blue fabric traced with fine diamonds of white and silver.

The streets were almost entirely silent. A few stray barks and the occasional movement in the dark did not do much to disturb it. Yugi closed his eyes for a moment, drawing in the smell of cold asphalt and humidity. Snow had just begun to flutter, finally. He could see the slightest of the soft flakes drifting through the air. It was so slow and lazy that he almost thought hours would pass before he saw the next handful to drift downwards. But he could feel it somewhere deep in his bones, a natural instinct, that the snow would be much more than the light dusting the weather channels had come to predict.

Yugi opened his eyes again, taking in the way that the streets had darkened in those few seconds. His teeth dug into his cheek, his head turning both ways as he hurried across the street just in case. A dog barked again, from somewhere far in front of him, and the noise was great and booming as it traveled so well forward.

He looked around a few times, though this was more because he worried he'd heard the direction of this bark wrong. Then another bark came forward, from an entirely new direction, and Yugi found himself relaxing slightly. The short series of yips that came afterwards were followed by a great and powerful baying which made the air quiver as if it were a plucked bowstring.

It must have been a few strays. Perhaps they were the dogs that lived in packs in the woods. He didn't know. Domino did have quite a few strays, however, though it was not the worst.

Yugi took in the trees and the benches which lined the way. The streetlights were bright in their scattered positions along the sidewalks. He hummed under his breath, a soft tune which comforted him if only slightly.

He could feel Yami there beneath his skin, in his head. He brushed against him and became flush amongst his thoughts, making him shiver. The secure feeling that came with it made him tremble briefly with relief. His heart skipped as he wandered forward and continued into the trees, drawing in a deep breath to get a taste of the night air.

The grass had grown a little sweeter, as if giving off a final aroma before they were swallowed up completely by the winter. The air cooled his throat and bit at his skin. But he felt as if his entire body were being engulfed in fire, as if he were feverish and desperate.

And he wondered if Yami were yearning for contact as he did.

Yugi weaved his way among the trunks, shivering at the touch of cold air that burned through him. The way his clothes felt a little tighter against his skin with the touch of a light breeze was oddly comforting. He glanced up, took in the way the clouds moved together overhead, almost as if summoned forth. They skittered across the moon, illuminated and bright where it had become hidden behind the thick white.

Snow…

The snow would come in a matter of hours—if even that long from then. The thought made him smile slightly with amusement, though he faltered and fell short the moment he realized that he could not see Yami anywhere. His face fell immediately. His head tilted to the side, bewilderment coming over his features as his stomach tossed slightly. And then, slowly, a new thought occurred to him.

Yugi stepped back a handful of paces, then very slowly craned his head back to look upwards. The action was almost enough to make his neck ache, head spinning with momentary dizziness.

But there he was.

Yami rested there, in such a lazy position that it made Yugi immediately smile again. The taller teen sat with his legs dangling over the edge of the branch. He was leaned forward only slightly, eyes glowing and burning through the gathering darkness. The idea of interrupting him in such a peaceful state made Yugi falter again, stomach tightening. His smile fell and he frowned in slight puzzlement. The mirroring look the deity granted him was not bemusement but rather dissatisfaction.

Then, like a cat, Yami pounced.

The height would have stunned anyone else. The drop would have wounded someone else altogether. The pain would have been enough to at least made them pause.

Yami simply landed in front of him, a couple of feet away. His drop had made only a loud crunching thud which caused Yugi to blink as he remembered the frozen grass. The small teen took a moment to watch him, see the way he breathed easily and eyed him without much expression. But Yami did not appear angry. And he looked healthy, seeing as he had not even had to crouch to recover himself upon his landing. When he stepped forward, he did not look stiff. He did not seem injured. And Yugi could feel nothing painful.

But Yugi felt sick all the same.

As Yami did not seem angered in the slightest. And that scared him. He studied the deity for a long moment. Those red eyes had grown narrow, darkening faintly. But his relaxed stance had not changed. The cold seemed to have done well to comfort him, to somehow leave his body warm and comfortable even as it appeared beautiful and alluring to the smaller boy.

Yugi stepped forward. Yami's lip twitched faintly with something almost like distaste. It threatened to curl back for a brief second, but the small teen found it hard not to laugh now. The sight of his reaction was amusing, adorable somehow even. Then Yugi moved faster, almost quick enough that he was running in that split second it took to get to him.

His arms wrapped around him immediately. The positioning was awkward. The god did not move to embrace him. Nor did he move his limbs were they were trapped against his flanks due to this action. Yugi buried his face into his chest. He closed his eyes tightly, smelling that strange and intoxicating scent of moonlight and darkness, of ice and winter itself.

Yami was statuesque against him.

His entire body was so wired with tension and hatred, that for a second, Yugi thought he might lash out and send him flying. He had begun to tremble finely, almost vibrating. The growing snarl in his lungs did not become loud enough for Yugi to hear, however. And then, very slowly, his arms began to move.

His palms found his left hip and the right side of his ribs. Yugi let out a harsh gasp as his fingers clenched with bruising force. The pain of it threatened to shatter the bones. The small teen hissed and stepped back. He did not want to make Yami any more uncomfortable than he already was. So, when Yami flexed his arms and pushed him back completely, putting the exact length of his limbs between them, Yugi could do no more than blink in surprise.

His hands slipped away only then. His red eyes flickered and trailed over his frame slowly for a moment. And then Yugi wondered if he appeared almost unsure of him. Yami tilted his head slightly, his mouth quirking downwards the smallest degree, and finally he huffed softly as his eyes narrowed into gleaming slits of blood.

"You came for a reason," he growled in a voice full of crisp darkness. The pitch and tone were almost personally offended, as if Yugi coming to think that he was worthy of touching him made him bristle. But he wondered, curious, as they looked at each other. "Say what you came here for."

"Yami no Yugi," the smaller teen announced with a bright smile. He nodded slightly, then started to move forward a step. To his amusement, in an act not the least bit surprising, Yami steeled his arms and touched his shoulders, holding him back. His lips curled and his white teeth flashed like beautiful stars where they showed briefly. He snorted, unable to help himself, and the god gave him an annoyed look before his eyes rolled with frustration. "That is what I think I should call you. That way, just in case I ever forget, I'll know just how much I've recently fucked up."

The other teen blinked at him. The shock was clear in his gaze. He stared at him, bewildered and stunned. And then he narrowed his eyes into thin slits of dark gleaming gems. "To remind you of our bond," he corrected him in a voice that was both gentle and distasteful. He watched him as if he thought Yugi might leap forward and try to launch himself into his arms once more. But, abruptly, his attention seemed to shatter away, snapping about as his own head did and he sniffed curiously. "I will remind you of how much you have  _fucked up_  plenty enough."

"I don't doubt you will," Yugi said truthfully, smiling softly at the taller teen. Repeatedly, the other boy drew in deep and long breaths, furrowing his brows in apparent confusion. Yugi searched his face, smiling a little more when Yami glanced at him with open bewilderment. And then Yugi tipped his own head up, staring straight at the sky where the thick white clouds were bunched so tightly together that the night was swallowed away beneath it.

Yami's fingers flexed and lightly tapped along his shoulders as he moved their positions. His nails gently scratched at his skin and Yugi thought the pads of his fingers felt soft like cold cotton for a brief moment.

"You did not even make it a week." The other boy was scoffing, but his attention was back on Yugi once more. Before him, fingers squeezing gently so that his nails it into his skin more fully to rival the chill of the night air, Yami peered at him with a sneering expression. His lips pulled back into the widest of smirks, showing off his teeth even in the night, and his voice lowered further. He was laughing now, voice all but purring with his laughter. "You made it all of five days into this month. And one of the last."

"Yeah." Yugi laughed softly. "And we had a deal, didn't we?"

Yami raised a brow, awaiting his admittance. The smaller teen smiled wider, watching his narrowed eyes with amusement. And then he nodded and tilted his head fractionally, reaching forward as if for his cheek.

"You won, Yami."

"I do not know if I should perhaps call it weak or commend you on your intelligence as you have bowed down to your most primal instincts."

The comment made him snicker.

"I think it goes both ways, actually, Yami. But I'm sure we'll find out soon enough, right?" he asked quietly, chewing his cheek and staring at him for a long minute and a half. He moved to scratch his arm, watching as Yami folded his expression into one of more purified cynical amusement which seemed almost to bleed with laughter. "Because…maybe after this…you won't have to rely on me anymore…right? Maybe you can go ahead and kill me…right?"

Yami did not blink. He began to purr with such elation and satisfaction that Yugi burst out laughing, once again stunned by his apologetic nature. The display of such happiness made him smile more, but he doubted any expression of joy he had ever worn before did well to mirror the look the deity wore.

"Ah, yes, retribution for trapping me here," he rumbled, shivering and smirking widely to show off his brilliant teeth. "Won't that be a gorgeous gift?"

Yugi shrugged slightly. He should have been undone by his hatred in such clear display as it was. But he had grown so used to it, so confident in its existence, that it was impossible not to embrace it fully and easily.

Yugi glanced at the snowflake that drifted past Yami's face. The other teen stopped short, spinning on it with an openly amazed and confused expression. He stared at where it had since landed, watching it melt into nonexistence on the ground. And then he bristled, his eyes shooting up again as more began to drift through the air in slow currents of white.

Yugi smiled, tilting his head, and watched him with nothing more than amusement to come upon his frame. Yami's eyes had grown thrice their usual size, as wide as immense full moons. The shock in his gaze was beautiful, lighting them like fireworks, and the god jerked backwards momentarily as a flake landed on his nose.

There was no anger to be found in him, however.

Yugi could sense none of it in the overlap of emotion which existed between them. Yami was stricken, visibly stunned, but he was not upset. Much of his temper had been coiled and molded into bewilderment, eyes stretched with amazement and confusion. Every muscle in his body was wired with his puzzlement, his head even tilted slightly to the side. And when another drifted to touch his hand, he stared at it as it took a few moments to fade into nonexistence.

"What…what is this…?"

"It's a little early for snow," Yugi commented by way of explanation. He felt any other approach might have shattered Yami's curiosity and turned it into embitterment. So he held a palm up, catching a flake of his own in the center, and shivered as it melted immediately. "Normally it comes in early January further up north here, especially over in Hokkaido. But it does normally drift through later in the month. It  _sometimes_ comes in the middle of February, near Valentine's Day and White Day, but hey, I don't have any complaints. I love snow."

He let the next flake float in front of his eyes. In his peripheral Yami was considering the snow with childish astonishment, almost drawn to speak once more with pure surprise. But then Yugi drew a hand closer to himself and bit his lip, watching the deity now.

"And, hey, if this is the last time I ever see it, then that's good enough for me."

The other boy tilted his head, wrinkling his nose. A sharp retort lay on his tongue and he had turned to sneer at him. But the flake had come out of seemingly nowhere. And when it landed on his nose, his focus was so drawn to it that his eyes crossed. The sight was so amazing to Yugi that he couldn't help but smile widely, stunned.

But if he were to laugh, he was sure Yami would lash out. And some small, aching, part of him was broken at the sight of it as well.

He drew in a deep breath, forcing himself to take this occurrence in stride. The alarms were going off in his head and he reached his hands up to run through his hair in order to keep from speaking again.

Yami had such little body heat.

He was so cold that he snowflake had maintained its beautiful, intricate shape and was perfectly intact upon his skin. Yugi wanted to sob just seeing this. It was not the reality that the other teen was decidedly not human.

It was the fact that it alluded to an idea that Yami was perhaps a cold-blooded creature, like some kind of lizard or a reptile or something. And that made his heart hurt even more to consider.

But…

He knew there was a way to raise his core body temperature. He had felt it on the mattress that night, waking up when Yami had left early. He had been warmer one of those nights. It had been enough to leave the faintest touch of heat to the sheets, however miniscule it was.

If could somehow perhaps convince Yami to stay longer—whether by means of sex or otherwise—he might be able to raise his body warmth. Perhaps it would be enough to make him seem almost more human…

The thought made him bristle, however.

A sudden and vicious sting of ferocity bloomed in his stomach, swelling and bursting forth like a dam being broken.

He didn't want to force Yami to change in any way.

It didn't matter how small.

Just the idea of something as apparent as his body heat being changed infuriated him. Yami was… _Yami_. If something changed outwardly, would  _he_ change with it?

He felt sick at the thought.

"You do not have to worry about something so trivial as my body heat, Yugi," Yami cut into his thoughts effectively, softly, voice mild and calm. His eyes flashed cruelly, laughing, but there was something curious as well, a spark of something Yugi could not quite name near the center of his iris, just beneath the lowest crest of his starburst pupils. "I assure you. I will kill you the moment I find such an opportunity. I will not stop to think about it. I will  _destroy_ you without so much as a blink."

Yugi shook his head, smiling at him mildly now.

"I didn't think you would, Yami. Do it if you can."

The taller teen stared. His eyes narrowed and his smirk fell away into a tight frown. Bewilderment made his brows furrow and he tilted his head as he considered him a moment longer. The long breath he drew in was exhaled slowly, voice soft and curious more than undone.

"You keep saying such things to me. Why is that?"

"Because I know your reasons for wanting to. And I agree with them. I did this to you, Yami. And you're half of me, aren't you?" he asked calmly. His eyes searched his for a moment, amused by the way his gaze darkened considerably with frustration towards his understanding. The deity had assumed he would fight with him, he knew. It hurt to say the words, but it was as simple as laughing for him to as well. "I can't honestly argue with someone who is  _literally_ a part of me. Besides…I don't want to have you place your own existence in harm's way just for my sake. I would rather you kill me than have to do that. I've already trapped you here and I…I am so sorry, Yami…"

Yugi had bowed his head, his voice coming out cracked and heavily broken, shattering into a thick swallowing sob of a noise. Yami froze in place, stunned by the display of such emotion. He could not think to respond and the other boy was shaking. His shoulders were rising and falling with sobs. He was breathing a little harder.

The physical ache of the rock forming in his throat made Yami bristle. But it was the tightness of his lungs, constricting so painfully with dismay, that made him further hesitate. He could not understand. His comprehension did not breach the design of human emotions.

The realization made his stomach roll.

He studied him for a moment. The sob was harsh and heavy. He cringed and stared, bewildered and unsure of what more to do. Then, very slowly, hesitating one last time, Yami reached out. His fingertips were almost shaking as they touched his chin, grasping it with such gossamer affection that Yugi assumed himself to be imagining it.

But then his face was tipped upwards despite the small hint of resistance he attempted to show him. He raised his eyes, looking at him from beneath shining lashes, and a tear touched his palm as it slid down his cheek. The heat of it was enough to startle him, but it was somehow almost beautiful in his brain.

And Yami could not take it.

Between his lack of understanding and curiosity and bewilderment, the deity found himself curling his lip back.

"Why the  _fuck_ are you crying?" he snapped in a vicious tone. The bristle he bore made his shoulders rise and his eyes flash. Yugi blinked at him and his lashes, shining faintly, looked almost like a small spidery embodiment of the night sky.

Yugi wanted to smile for a moment, studying him. His cheeks were colder than ever and his vision was still slightly blurred. But, oh gods, he could not help but want to laugh around the guilt and pain.

Yami was petulant…

Always  _so_ petulant.

Because he didn't understand.

Because he was scared of the tears.

And he didn't know how he was meant to deal with them and so he lashed out against them…

"Stop crying."

He wished he could have eased his fear in that moment more than he anything.

"I…I'm just so sorry."

"Get over it. I have no care for your sorrow or your guilt. Your apology bores me. I want your death."

Yugi nearly laughed. But to do so might have offended the other boy. So he closed his eyes, a few more tears losing their spots on his lashes, and shook his head slowly. "You're so simple-minded when it comes to that, but whenever I see you dealing with anything else, you seem so much more complex and… _dangerous_ with your thoughts."

"Do not flatter yourself," Yami sneered. He curled his lips back and bore his teeth, eyes narrowing further. But Yugi was not looking at him and the effort was for nothing so he allowed such expression to fade from his face. "I only want one thing from you. The rest of this worthless world is useless to me but for its ability to strike my curiosity and make me puzzle."

"That's good, I guess."

Yugi opened his eyes as Yami scoffed loudly. Another snowflake landed near on his wrist closest Yugi's face. He had not withdrawn his hand, he realized. But it seemed so arduous to do so instead of simply allow it to remain there. He looked about them, considering the falling crystals.

"And this happens…every year?"

"It's going to be a few inches this time around," Yugi muttered. He glanced around them curiously now as well, taking in the many flakes that passed through the air so deliberately. Yami had not let go of his face and the reality of it halted him from turning to stare towards the lake. "It's going to have to be…otherwise it wouldn't be this cold or falling this fast."

" _Lovely_ ," the other snorted dismissively. But it sounded far less harsh than he must have meant it to. His curiosity had served as a buffer, bleeding through and fighting away whatever small hint of embitterment he had possessed moments before. His eyes were wide again, gleaming with something so unusual on his expression that Yugi was almost too stunned to name it as the delight it truly was.

He watched him closely, eyes softening. And then he smiled widely as Yami's red eyes flickered back and forth every which way. Each moment he surveyed his surroundings, those brilliant gems got a size bigger. Some of the snow was beginning to fall in clumps larger than others. And, as they fell, their beautiful shape was just enough to distract Yugi away from the other boy.

For a long twenty minutes they two of them remained like this.

Yugi's flesh was too hot to even truly take in the chill that the air offered where it should have been biting him like a dog's teeth, sharp and cunning and puncturing. The flakes melted against in a way that seemed unnaturally swift. It was almost as if the air around him was too warm for them to last. And the thought struck a small bit of sorrow into his system once more.

If this was truly to be the last time he ever experienced snow, he thought it was somehow an even mixture of misery and joy.

"I do not think this will be your final time to encounter such a thing," Yami murmured quietly. His head tilted towards him, eyes no longer curious but more amused as they peered about his face calmly. "I doubt that this experience between us will forfeit your hold on me…should that truly be a possibility in the first place."

"Do you ever wonder how long it will take?" the smaller teen asked. He searched those dark red eyes of ruby and blood, the starburst pupils of cold, bottomless darkness. He smiled faintly again. "I mean, how long will it take for you to be able to get rid of me and no longer have to rely on me?"

"Every second of every day. You have no idea the joy it will bring me when I am able to slit your throat and have no worry of repercussions."

Yugi smiled slightly and shook his head slowly, watching his face. "I'm sure I can't," he agreed with a small nod. "You seem to experience emotions at a stronger degree than I ever will."

"Yes, and yet your emotions spike like your energy when you are around me," Yami purred in amusement. His smirk was shark-like, pure white teeth and harsh glittering red eyes of pure cunning. "It is almost a punishment for you, is it not? You are forced to stumble through this and experience things on new levels you have never known before."

"…It's a lot different from what I'm honestly used to," Yugi admitted, frowning and considering his words. "But I don't think that it's a punishment. Maybe a painful truth, but not a punishment."

"Take the joy out of the experience," he sneered, rolling his eyes. "Nice."

He shook his head and looked at one of the flakes. It was much larger, seemingly made of multiple flakes, all of them clumped together into a tight and fluffy formation. He felt it against his skin for a single second, watching it melt immediately, and then turned back to him.

"I was…I came here expecting us to be doing something else…"

He bit his lip and then reached up to rub at the back of his neck, considering him. It was hard for him to truly point this out, as the words seemed some kind of odd and great, terrible, betrayal of some kind. He'd always said that he would only sleep with someone he cared for, that he'd wait until he was in love with that person.

This was so far from that realm of reality that it made his heart hurt.

"I was not aware you were in a such a hurry." His voice was brusque, a snapping tone, but then smirked, lifting his head and turning to him with wild amusement within his beautiful eyes. "Who knew?"

"I told you. I'm a sixteen-year-old boy. We are all about sex. We live for it."

"Even the virgins?"

" _Especially_ the virgins," he replied with a firm nod, almost laughing with delight upon seeing how curious and amused Yami seemed in turn. " _Now,_ how about you and I go back to the house and—?"

Yugi felt as if something had been forcefully ripped from him.

A cavity was left within it, bleeding and sore from where it had once resided.

It was great and terrible and overwhelming.

It tore his breath away and stunted his heartbeat.

His head felt so light he thought he might collapse.

He was trying to breathe, but choking and panting instead.

His bones rattled and shook beneath his skin, echoing loudly in his ears.

His eyes burned as if he had been exposed to chemicals for too long.

He fell backwards as if hit with a strong wind.

His skin was burning, feverish, and sweat bloomed on his forehead as his ass collided with the floor.

"I was uncertain as to how that would come to affect you, but I am glad I did it. That look upon your face is worth the extra bit of magic," Yami laughed softly, smirking widely. The smaller boy stared up at him, breathless and blinking with a dazed and horrified expression. "Guess where we are, little game."

Yugi did not have to bother with the task of looking around. He recognized the slight strain of tension which claimed the other boy's frame. He was unnerved. And, even without this telltale clue, he saw it in the way that warm air made the snow lingering on the taller boy's body melt.

"We're in my room. And…you still seem to think the walls will close in on us at any moment," he replied weakly, voice croaking. His throat felt raw and stripped and his lungs felt as if they might explode from the pressure. He coughed, sputtering, and then blinked wide eyes. Yami made a delighted noise in the back of his throat, grinning widely at his weakened state. Yugi reached up and rubbed at his throat, hoping to alleviate some of the pain. "Fucking hell, Yami…why couldn't you have just warned me?"

"Now,  _that_ is a mouthful of a curse. I did not think I would get something like  _that_ out of you," he chuckled with open amusement. His eyes were gleaming as he nudged his shoe with his own, studying him. "You should simply lay on your back for a few minutes. Otherwise you will find yourself in pain for quite a long while. You weren't built for shadow travel."  
Yugi failed to make a wise crack at the first part of the second statement. But it was there, lying on his tongue, as he slowly lay back. "Shadow travel?" he echoed instead, watching the blue of his ceiling as it seemed to twist and writhe for a split second before settling. He groaned softly, the bleeding sore somewhere inside of him pulsating with pain.

"I would think it was self-explanatory with a name like that," the other spat. A small sneer lingered at the edge of each word. Yugi closed his eyes, ignoring the condescension of his tone. Instead he waited for some of that strained dizziness to start to loosen its hold on him.

He could hear Yami's movement, his footfalls soft and almost nonexistent but for tiny tremors where his weight pressed into the floor. He could not tell the exact direction, but he imagined it was the desk. But for what reason Yami would have gone over there was a mystery to him.

But Yami was indeed in front of it. His face was angled downwards, his eyes glittering with hatred. Before him, the silver of the metal reflected an image he loathed.

There was a sharp yet somehow blurred outline of his physique, something that existed without true definition. It was almost black but bordered more closest the deepest of grays that might ever come to exist. Flickering ribbons of the monotonous color twisted away from the core shape. He thought of wisps of smoke, like drifting flickers of blackness.

Two narrowly cut garnets of burning, glowing red met his eyes with sharp intensity. The glow of them was uniform, though the center seemed somehow brighter than the rest, pulsing outwards to make up the formation of his narrow gaze.

When he opened his mouth, flexing his jaws, the vision before him did the same. The lips parted, a jagged formation in which the teeth were hideous razor peaks of which surrounding a deep pit of blood red. He thought the color of his eyes versus this gaping formation of his mouth looked somehow the same and yet incredibly different all at once.

He was so caught up in his own investigation, he had not realized his loathing had been projected outwards for the other teen to experience. Watching his mouth move again, insides quivering with such hatred it made his shoulders tremble, the other missed it as Yugi padded over quietly to join him.

He stopped a couple of inches away from him, so as not to spook him with his own reflection displayed there beside his. But he watched the darkness that Yami had been observing, studying the way it writhed and danced in front of them.

"So…that's what you look like in the mirror," Yugi whispered before he could truly stop himself. It seemed abruptly to make sense as to why Yami had smashed the glass, why he had seen those shapes in the shards left behind that day.

He blinked and looked at him sideways now, tilting his head in wonder at the thought. His curiosity peaked at the very idea, and he blinked as Yami turned to face him with a snarl, his voice dripping with hateful venom.

"I thought I told you to lie down."

"You did. And I laid down. But you've been standing here for a few minutes now," the smaller teen muttered, turning away from his face to look upon that reflection once more. His hand hovered, moving without his conscious thought, and he wished for a moment that he could touch the core of that darkness. What he came in contact with, however, was predictably the mundane chill of the metal. His hand severed the reflection there, but it was not enough to gain Yami's satisfaction. "I thought I would check on you."

"As if I need you to—"

"I know you don't need me to," he interrupted, turning his head and facing him now with a frown. "But I got worried, so I did it anyways."

" _Why_? Why must you always worry about the things that do not concern you?" Yami snarled dismissively, voice drenched with frost. His timbre dipped lower, until it resonated in Yugi's bones and made his insides quiver. For a moment, leaning forward, he thought the deity might lash out violently. Maybe he would forego what he had initially thought his salvation and simply kill them both with a strike of his beautiful nails.

But then, possibly because he heard his thoughts, or even because he had found his own mind trailing a different path than Yugi's initial fear, Yami pulled away from the desk. He looked at him, studying him for a moment, then turned to start for the bed. "Take off that fucking Puzzle. I do not wish for repetition of the last time I ran into that piece of shit trinket."

Yugi could not help the small laugh that came to bubble up, looking down at his own reflection for a moment. He wished for a split second that he might share the other boy's pain. He almost wished he had never come to know his own face so well that he would never have to question what it looked like at any given time.

The fact was that it was a simple thing that had been taken from him. And it was something that everyone took for granted. Seeing someone unable to do the same made Yugi's heart hurt. But there was no remedy he knew to fix it. And, somehow, in the smallest corner of his mind, he wished he could do the same as Yami had in the alley that night.

He wished he could  _show him_  what he looked like. He wished he could let him experience that little discovery of identity. But he was not powerful. He was not magical.

He was just a sixteen-year-old, a foolish boy who had made a mistake and brought into the mix a creature far too great to remain amongst mortals.

The thought was somber enough that he swallowed hard to fight back a new rush of pain. Instead, fingers shaking faintly, he slipped the chain over his neck and pushed it onto the desk. The soft thud of it made him shiver as the gold chilled against his fingers as he pushed it away slowly. He closed his eyes for a second. And then he turned his head and glanced over at him.

"Does…your reflection always look like that?"

The other teen stiffened for a split second. He did not raise his eyes for a moment, startled by his words. His head snapped towards him now, however, as his lips curled into a snarl. "Does it matter?"

"…No, I guess not. I just can't really…imagine."

"No one asked you to!" Yami spat viciously, eyes flashing wildly. "No one once asked you to stretch that pathetic little mind of yours to try to comprehend that! I don't need you attempting to sympathize with me. I do not require your pity."

"I don't pity you. You're too strong for that," Yugi answered, shaking his head and feeling his heart break a little more at the assumption. "I just…if I were in your situation, I don't think I could survive it."

"I do not care."

"I know you don't." He paused for a moment, slowly shaking his head again as he moved towards him. Yami's anger only seemed to grow more abundant at such words. He breathed out harshly, baring his teeth for a moment. "I wouldn't in your place, either."

"But you are not. You are not in my—"

His fury was enough to knock the wind from Yugi's lungs altogether. The air was drenched with it, a great and terrible heat that bit through his blood. His fight-or-flight instinct reared its head, desperate for him to flee. And yet it was easily smothered away into nonexistence.

The action he took instead was so foolish it could have gotten him killed if not for the double-edged reality it held for the god in front of him.

He sprang forward, ignoring him. His hands cupped his jaw, his thumbs tracing his cheeks as he leaned forward. Yami fell silent immediately, as the smaller boy had known he would. Not even the recurrence of a snarl came from him. He peered up at him, startled but more amazed as well by his audacity to take such action.

And, though they stared at each other, and Yami was capable of continuing his hateful words, the taller teen fell silent. He regarded him with cold, glittering red eyes. Yugi had known this would happen as well.

If there was one thing he had come to know of the other, it was that he did not waste his breath. If he assumed one was not listening, he would fall silent. And so, now, he stared at him and watched with those deep eyes.

They feathered shut only when Yugi leaned closer, their lips meeting only a heartbeat later.

From the speed of the movement—despite their pause—was an awkwardness that made Yugi falter. All of his inexperience seemed to rush forth now, welling upwards in his bloodstream. His heart was skipping beats as reality came upon him.

Porn made everything look so easy.

And books made everything seem as if it were magical and fun.

But the reality of it was more terrifying than it was graceful like written word.

In his desperation to quell Yami's growing enragement, he had forgotten the implications of his own actions. And it came to him now that maybe he was not truly as ready as he had claimed formerly.

But it was the only way he could think to make Yami feel better. And he would be damned if he left him to suffer longer than necessary simply due to his own fear.

Yami opened his mouth for him despite the awkwardness. Yugi pressed gently against his knees with his own. The taller teen had begun to bristle and by the gods, the other boy could  _feel it_. The deity resented this gentle touch he offered him. It scared him and he loathed it.

He saw it as something both intimate and disturbing. Because Yugi treated him almost as if he were fragile. He seemed to touch him, to kiss him, as if he might break beneath his touch. The very definition of his weakness in such an idea made him want to snarl.

And the reality was one that Yugi realized as well.

No matter the argument they had, the other would never come to change the perception of this situation. Not once would Yugi admit to it willingly, either.

The smaller teen pressed more of his weight against him. A hand lowered from his cheek to cup his hip, squeezing lightly with his fingers. The bone was hard and sharp beneath his skin, like a glacier of ice. It was jagged, like a knife's blade, and he shivered at the way the reality seemed to swallow him whole. It was sturdy and cruel.

It bore down on him like teeth.

He knew well enough from health class that he other teen was underweight. But he had not known the extent of it. But he did know that his skin was soft where it should have been soft. And this clarification did well to allow him an understanding of what he was always so cautious of.

He was dangerous, his demeanor alone sharp enough to cut through flesh, but it was in order to shield what could have been potentially taken advantage of by an opponent.

It came to him only then that Yami might feel his emotions. But the did not swell and burst in him as they did Yugi. Whereas his temperament fluctuated and he could flex a total control over it, the smaller teen did not for even a moment think he could boast the same.

And though he thought he would never have desired to do it to another person, Yugi was growing even more fearful. Yami was not relaxing. And his tension was making his head spin. His heart felt as if it might pound straight out of his chest. He struggled, trying his hardest to think of a new way to come over his idea of easing the stiffness from the other boy.

And then he found himself faltering.

 _Flip us over_ , Yami growled softly into his mind. The tone was softer than what Yugi had ever expected from him. It was warmer than he had ever heard it before. It was a blatant attempt to meet him halfway, but it was also clear that Yami did not know of any other way to do so.

The smaller teen hesitated, pulling back to look at him. The red eyes were wide open, burning into his now. His pupils were quivering, his discomfort visible in the very distress they showed him there. But he was still trying.

And the sentiment alone was enough to make Yugi feel better.

But still, unable to think any further, the small teen opened his mouth twice. Then he shook his head briefly, feeling sick to his stomach.

"I—"

For a moment there were so many words in his mouth that he could not breathe them out. It was impossible to string them into a coherent sentence as well. He waited a long moment, struggling to force even once more out, and then shook his head again. He cut himself off a third time. And somehow, despite himself and the amazement that filled him as well, Yugi was not the least bit surprised to see Yami watch him rather than speak in turn.

He kicked his shoes off in an attempt to dispel some of his growing nervousness, then drew in a deep breath as he stepped away. In his periphery, as his eyes focused fully on the bed, the other boy had grown still in confusion. His gaze had grown wide and his jaw had tightened, his expression somewhat sharp with disbelief. His shoulders had risen faintly and it was clear that he was not impressed, a bristle beginning to overtake his frame.

Yugi ignored it, the way his eyes grew so cold and furious as they burned into his skin. He made his way to the pillows in a quick crawl. The action drew Yami's attention, his curiosity growing. But Yugi merely fell back against the mattress with a momentary wish that he should have attempted to coax Yami to do this before instead.

The red-eyed teen tilted his head curiously, raising a brow only when Yugi smiled simply and reached out a hand for him in easy invitation. The anger had long since dissipated, but now it was replaced by the cold lapping of unease within his belly. Yami studied him for a heartbeat or two, eyes flickering about his own. And then he followed his lead to kick off his shoes and straddle him.

For a moment, fearful, Yugi grasped at his shirt tightly. He fisted the material in his growing anxiety and hoped that Yami did not think he was trying to hurt him in any way. But he needed an anchor. And he feared moving too quickly as Yami might involuntarily lash out in response.

His stomach was twisting harshly, his heart skipping forcefully. He almost swayed even where he lay against the pillow. It seemed so utterly natural, as if predetermined by thousands of years, but it still made him quake. Yami was statuesque, watching him for a signal that his movements were warranted rather than taking advantage.

When he released him, shuddering only once, the red-eyed boy watched him for a long moment. Yugi wished he would have had the strength to nod at him, to tell him that it was okay to move. But he felt so small and the situation seemed terrible and daunting now.

But Yami took his shudder to mean something of an equivalent. Because of this he shifted his weight, pressing his palms into the mattress to comfortably distribute his weight. His weight was better focused and his sense of balance comfortable now.

There was no heat to be given from the other teen. And his aura cloaked the air like mist. And Yugi was cold enough beneath its blanketing presence that he shivered once more. But, for the moment, the other teen did not pay him full attention as he would have otherwise.

Yugi was stunned by how comforting this realization was. The simplicity of this reality was just enough to allow him room to steel his nerves once more. He held his resolve now, closing his eyes for a brief moment.

Yami was distracted in some manner. For whatever reason, his interest was more popularly associated with the comforter beneath his fingers, his nails flexing to scratch lightly upon its material. His eyes had grown distant, but there was a distinct soft rumbling purr which left him, escaping into the still air. Both of them felt the sense of peace which came with the familiarity of this simple noise.

The situation was daunting, but the simplicity of the things which surrounded them made him want to laugh.

Yugi reached up to grip at the right lapel of his jacket. The thin material of the school uniform he himself so often wore was a comfort in this strange situation. It let out its own soft rustling noise, gentle and easy. His racing mind calmed slightly at the brief presence. And he thought of it keenly as a second skin with how often he donned it. The material which rested on Yami's skin was a shade darker, almost even purple where it served a contrast to his brilliant golden-bronze skin tone. But it was still the same material. It was still the same design. But for the color difference, it was a perfect replica.

The movement, he found as he looked away, had caught Yami's attention. It had riled his focus, brought it back to be dedicated to him once more. He peered at him, red eyes curious and yet somehow encompassed with a knowledge which seemed old and ancient, with such power it made him breathless for a split second.

He studied him for a long moment. Then he lowered his face to press into his neck. Yami's breathing was so steady it seemed almost mystifying that it lacked as much warmth as Yugi's own possessed. His skin was burning, hot enough that Yami felt as if he were touching a live flame. Yugi felt his cheek like a cool gel pack against his neck, soft and smooth where it lay there. But his exhales were so cool that it made his body rebel slightly, twitching against such touch.

"Why are you so cold?" he muttered, allowing himself a moment to close his eyes and grow used to such a sensation. "I thought darkness had at least a little warmth to it…"

"No, the darkness is cold. It is always cold. There is nothing to warm it, Yugi. But…you have more than enough heat to survive it, don't you?" he growled against his skin. His lashes tickled him as he closed his eyes, almost as if he were bracing himself for one reason or another. "Just a little chill…"

"You like the winter, though, don't you?"

"I was born in the summer. I'm a wimp for warmth," Yugi mumbled, shivering again when Yami snickered into his skin and pressed his tongue against his pulse point. Yugi felt almost as if the other boy were tasting it through the thin layer of flesh. The idea made him shiver again, and he could not be sure if it was with delight or bewilderment. Either way, he closed his eyes in an attempt to embrace such touch.

But his mind shied away from the chill and he found himself feeling slightly queasy for a brief moment. He wondered, however, if maybe the other boy could draw warmth from him like this. He reached his free hand up to touch his shoulder, moving his palm down Yami's back to the bottom of the blade there, feeling the sharp and jagged bone beneath his fingertips.

It was startling, how Yami's shoulders were broad but the bone so terribly narrow under his hand. The arch of it was so small, almost gentle in an odd way, and, as he traced his way back towards his chest, he was amazed by how sharp and prominent his collarbone was. It was soft, beautiful beneath his fingers. And the muscle of his arm was taut, wiry, bunching when he shifted his weight. The sensation was pleasant, somehow mesmerizing, in a way that Yugi could almost forget himself in it.

The smaller teen trembled and Yami purred at the feeling. His body shook beneath him, clinging to his jacket with a grip which kept tightening. After all of the fighting, they were both bending to each other. He could feel it, his own frailness and the fragility that such position gave him. They were like two well-spun jagged pieces of glass. There was no fight in him. There was no hatred to overheat his blood. And, despite his fear, Yugi was willing beneath him.

It was strange to him how easily they had pushed aside such differences for a common goal. And he did not know that Yugi gained anything from an experience such as this.

The smaller teen was sweating and feverish. But his own body temperature had remained the same and Yami considered the saltiness he could smell which lingered in the smaller teen's perspiration. Curiosity teased at his insides and he slowly lapped his tongue along the side of his neck, trailing it upwards to savor such flavor.

Yugi reveled in the touch. His head dropped back, a low and hoarse noise escaping his mouth. His spine arched, pushing to press their bodies close together. The blunt nails of his free hand dug into the taller boy's skin, drawing small lines of pink in a way that made his own back arch like a feline's.

For a long breath, neither of them moved. The reactions they elicited from each other was enough to satisfy for that small period. And then Yami moved, scraping his nails over Yugi's right side, bunching the material of his shirt. When he did not protest, the taller boy began to pull it upwards, and Yugi was stunned when he felt the deity lower his face to press against his chest.

He could feel his heart beating against his cheek as he situated his ear against his breast. It was somewhat shaken with the new movement. But it came back with a new strength. Listening to it was hypnotizing and melodic, almost intoxicating in its simplicity. Then he pulled away once more, running his tongue over Yugi's skin again, delighted that he felt as if he could taste his blood as the muscle trembled and rattled beneath his touch.

Yugi flushed, breath coming out in a loud pant, shaky but not at all scared. His nerves were still rather frayed, his hands almost shaking with them. But he still sat up to allow Yami more room to pull the jacket from his arms. For a moment, holding the piece of clothing in his hand, Yami made no move more than to watch him. The sensation was so eerie that Yugi nearly snapped at him, uncomfortable beneath his penetrating stare.

But he realized belatedly that it was not his skin he was so focused on but more the lines of his veins, the intricate weavings of purple and dark blue there beneath his skin. He was memorizing them, it seemed. Or maybe he was just using them as a way of getting over his own nerves should he have any.

He arched his hips, rubbing slightly against his strained erection with the movement. Yami shifted minutely at the touch of their pelvic bones, somewhat surprised by his initiative. Then he sat up slightly, just enough to pull his shirt over his head. The thin layer of cotton fell to the floor next to the bed. He expected the other to have done something similar but he found himself instead looking the jacket in his hands over as if curious.

A moment passed. Yugi furrowed his brows. Rather than dropping the jacket, Yami had begun to stretch it slightly, pulling the sleeves to their fullest. Then he tugged gently as if to test how far he could make them reach.

"What are you doing with my jacket?"

"I plan to tie you up with it," Yami stated simply.

Yugi froze in place, heart skipping a beat. He opened and closed his mouth twice, eyes owlish. The very idea struck too much fear in his heart to contain in any manner. He swallowed hard. "W-what?" he squeaked out, shaking his head and blinking at him. "No, oh, hell no, you are not."

Yami looked at him for a moment from beneath his lashes. His lips had stretched into something of a wide smirk. His jacket was pulled again by the sleeves, his expression beautiful and dangerous. And his countenance could have put the very devil to shame.

"It is funny that you only find it in yourself to fear me when I threaten to tie you up," he quipped, leaning forward slightly. His red eyes flickered about Yugi's for a moment and he tightened his grip on the jacket sleeves, twisting it around his right palm. "Tell me, Yugi, do you think if you're not tied up you'll have a chance if I decide I want you dead?"

"No. I'm just not into the whole bondage thing," Yugi stated truthfully. He shivered, then moved to snatch the jacket out of his hands. The other teen did not so much as blink. His smirk grew wider and his eyes were mocking, wide and glittering. Yugi dropped the clothing material to the floor, blinking again, and then found himself frowning as he recalled there had been zero resistance.

"…And you never planned to tie me up in the first place…"

"No. I planned for skin on skin contact with your hands on me," Yami snorted dismissively. For a moment he still sounded mocking but there was a sincerity in his tone as well now. He rolled his eyes and then peered at him curiously, tilting his head to the side. "You truly are such a slight little thing."

Yugi would have snapped at him had the comment not been so innocent and curious. It was not in the slightest critical. And somehow it was amazingly reassuring to see that his companion did not find it necessary to sneer at him now. It would have been so easy for him to take his anxiety and run with it.

He could have destroyed him altogether if he had only desired it. It was more beneficial to him not to do such a thing. But, as he watched him, he did not think Yami had even slightly considered saying it negatively. He was simply making a statement, one which was simple observation. He was saying something that he already knew. He was simply saying that he was small and thin.

"Are you sure you don't need to eat?" Yugi asked before he could stop himself. Yami's long fingers moved to weasel beneath his belt buckles. He paused, the buckles and button between his index and thumb.

For a long moment Yami was simply frozen. And then, very slowly, he blinked. He continued to process this statement, bewildered almost by the very idea of such a question. And then his eyes flashed and his lips drew into something of a tight line, a grimace of impatience and annoyance.

"I—I just…you're just… You're really skinny and I don't think that being around me is going to fix it…"

"If it will silence you, I will begin eating," the other teen sneered viciously, rolling his eyes and fixing him with a cold expression. The smaller boy could have hit himself for all the good his concern had done.

A long, soft sigh left him.

He had just insulted Yami without even meaning to. The deity was bristling and furious, though that had not changed how easily he worked on his task of seduction. He ignored him when he sent an apology. Yugi knew he could hear him. But Yami refused to give confirmation beyond leaning forward and pressing his hands lightly over his chest.

His fingers touched along his ribs for a brief moment, brushing over his nipples seconds later. And then Yami curled his fingers and scraped them lightly over his belly. Yugi was immediately knocked breathless by this action, the soft touch nearly causing him to buckle with desire.

" _Oh_ ," he muttered under his breath. The little curl of a moan seeped out of his mouth unbidden as he licked his lips, looking him over curiously. The other teen ignored him again before starting to slip his jeans off his hips. Yami smirked in amusement, pulling the pants away so that he could expose more of the smaller boy's skin.

Yami paused and Yugi felt his cheeks growing bright. He did not think it was embarrassment which colored his cheeks. But he did not know if it was excitement either. Yami licked his lips, his nerves fading only slightly somewhere along the way, he realized, and now he was simply aroused. And both of them could feel the impatience coming from the red-eyed teen.

"Well, at least you aren't slight here," Yami commented. He smirked widely and pulled his boxers off as well. Yugi raised his legs some to help the taller teen pull them off. Then he watched him kick them away with his knee. His eyes were caught on his erection, surprising Yugi somewhat, but he felt a warm sense of pride fill his veins for a moment at the way he licked his lips again and purred. "Then I would truly be disappointed."

"Wouldn't want that," Yugi snorted, trying not to shiver with anticipation at the very idea that look in those darkened red eyes brought. It was a soft quip, coming out husky and amused. Yami smirked, surprised by his words but more so when the smaller teen reached out to tug lightly on his jacket to pull him closer. It was somehow surprising to him that Yami had not slipped out of his range at any time while undressing him.

He had kept close enough that he would be able to hold his jacket. And Yugi was stunned by the chill of lacking body warmth the other possessed. The smaller teen kept a grip on his shoulder, the bone still incredibly sharp and smooth beneath his palm.

"Are you actually going to lose your clothes at some point or what?"

" _Hmm_?"

The distraction was obvious in his tone as he blinked at him with a tilt of his head. For a brief second Yami seemed almost inclined to argue. His lips curled faintly before he blinked again, red eyes searching his briefly.

Yugi thought for a second that he might just call it quits. Perhaps he would just give him another orgasm and consider it over and done with. But finally, blinking, Yami slipped out of his hands like sand between his fingers.

The smaller boy propped himself up onto his elbows. He watched him, blue-violet eyes searching his face, and his head tilted as their gazes locked together for another moment. It was somehow disappointing as they searched each other's eyes. There was something unsettling and truthful that passed between them and weight of such a thing bewildered them both, if only slightly.

It was further upsetting that Yami did nothing more than simply strip of his clothes. He simply dropped his clothes away. It was not the slightest bit erotic as Yugi had hoped for that brief moment. And he could now hear Yami laughing under his breath, in his head. He was snickering visibly even as he undid his belt buckles and pulled his pants down, kicking them away and following with his boxers seconds later.

He was not all sure what it was that Yugi had expected—if he was expecting anything at all, really—but it was comforting to see that Yami still looked so much like him. He was a little bigger. But it was not by much. And he definitely did not have an erection like those guys in porn tapes.

And he was not the least bit ashamed to admit just how relieved he was at the very thought that he wasn't. He was almost one hundred percent sure he would not stretch that way. There was no way he could take on twelve inches in length and similarly in girth.

Yugi was relatively sure that would have ended up with his intestines impaled and that  _hardly_ seemed comfortable. And, beyond that, he was pretty sure that they were simply props.

Or…at least he truly hoped they were…

If that was really what existed in their pants, then that was  _horrifying_ …

"That's…an odd take on sex," Yami commented wryly. He raised a brow at him curiously, tilting his head in bewilderment.

Yugi blinked wide eyes, blushing, and then smiled at him slightly. He shook his head, reaching his arm out, his hand open in invitation once more. It was the most comforting action he could take without making it all too obvious.

The other teen did not hesitate this time. He was on the bed again in seconds, straddling him as he had before. The blue-violet-eyed boy moved to his embrace his shoulder with his right hand again. He massaged at the skin again, while Yami hissed softly and moved his mouth to his throat.

"Have you…done this before?"

Yami stayed silent for a long minute. Then, roughly, the red-eyed teen snapped, "I don't know. Most likely not. Why should I have? Your species is a miserable one. I would hardly wish to immerse myself within it."

"Hmm…I don't think I know of a god in mythology that hasn't had sex before."

"Well then, here's your first,  _yes_?"

Yugi hummed in the back of his throat, stretching against him like a satisfied cat when Yami moved his lips against his skin again. The action made the red-eyed teen growl softly. The tension in his shoulders left, the question forgotten as if it had never come into existence to begin with.

His lips were little touches, light chills upon his skin. His lips ghosted over him, gossamer as he breathed roughly once. It burned him, little bites of soft pleasure that made him tremble as he moved along his collarbones. He stopped to press his nose into his throat. Then his tongue came out, licking between his clavicles where a small pool of sweat had gathered.

Fever, fever, fever…

Yugi shivered and hissed, slightly uncomfortable for a split second as Yami's erection bumped into his hip and leaked pre-cum. He licked his lips, swallowing hard, and fought back another small shudder.

He was still so cold to the touch, all hard flesh even as his tongue ran over his sweat skin. Yugi chewed his bottom lip, his skin seeming to swell with the touch of Yami's saliva, his frayed nerves soothed if only slightly. The taller teen continued to move his tongue over his skin, a distraction that Yugi was drowning in.

And then he felt his finger.

Yugi jumped beneath him. Yami paused circling his entrance.

But the reaction was not born of patience.

He had startled at his touch. And his mouth was open, bared against his throat. His sharp canines were pressed lightly against his skin as if to tear into his jugular. His breath was somewhat heavy, still mildly unsure.

And then the moment passed. His tongue passed over the column of his neck. His finger stroked softly.

Yugi shivered again, sucking in a deep breath from between his teeth. He moved to spread his legs further, giving Yami more room for better access. The tip of his index finger brushed against him several times. And when he moved the digit, his nail was as smooth and cold as glass where it touched him.

He moaned, squirming, and Yami pushed his finger into him just enough that it did not breach the muscle but teased his entrance. Yugi shivered, gripping tightly onto his shoulders with his growing unease. His blunt nails dug into Yami's skin as his own pre-cum oozed onto his belly.

Yami's other hand moved to his hip, gripping his skin there as he pressed the heel of his palm against his bone. The smaller teen licked his lips and squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Yugi tried his hardest to brace himself.

But a new fear had begun clawing at his insides and it was harder to think straight and attempt to relax. But it rendered him immobile with panic. Yugi couldn't breathe properly, his exhales a rough and terrible noise. And he nearly trembled with this overwhelming cold flare to claim his belly.

His body, so tightly wound, did not even register for a moment that Yami was still above him.

But it did register the sharp, hideous pain that shot through him abruptly. For a split second Yugi thought that perhaps Yami had foregone preparation altogether. And then his brain began to sort out further details, finding where it was that the wound originated from.

He swallowed a scream, baring his teeth, and grunted out a weak breath. He recognized nails digging into his skin, his hip gripped so tightly that it felt as if his bones might crack from the pressure. And he realized, eyes shut tightly, that the other boy had clawed at him.

In fact, he was  _still_ clawing at him. His nails were threatening to break skin. He was seconds from spilling his blood.

The noise came out strangled in the back of his throat, almost silent but for that small thread of noise that he could not stop from escaping. His heart skipped and rattled. Yugi could not understand the change of situation. And his mind struggled to realize the depth of it now as well.

Yami's teeth were scraping along his jugular again, posed and ready to sink into his skin. His breathing was erratic, rapid and strained, and Yugi feared he was hyperventilating. His entire body was taut like a bowstring.

His canine was lowered now, pressing against his throat and crawling upwards. And Yugi cried out again, horrified. The skin had split, though not deeply, but it was still enough to burn and hiss, tensing up somehow further.

Yugi needed to stop him, he realized. He had to figure out some way to make him halt. If he did not stop him, he might end up doing further damage. And who knew if Yami would stop before he was dead? But it seemed so impossible and Yugi could not make his mouth form the words.

His mind spiraled and dipped. His stomach twisted and churned. For a moment he thought of how wrong it would be to turn back on his deal. And then he flared with indignation, ashamed of the idea of being considered a wimp by the other boy.

"Ow,  _ow_!" Yugi yelped, grabbing at his shoulders tightly with his fingers. He jerked, twisting his lower body, and it shook Yami of his grip on his hip just enough to jar his attention. The deity blinked and Yugi pushed on his skin, staring up at him with wide eyes. The other teen refused to raise his eyes, nor did he lift his attention to look up from beneath his lashes. Yugi licked his lips, panting raggedly as the fear gripped him a little tighter. " _Stop_."

Yami finally looked up now, staring back at him coldly. His eyes were lit by a vibrant and dangerous frustration. But there was impatience as well, and mounting confusion, which followed swiftly afterwards. Weariness had begun to eagerly eat away at the rest of the expression in his eyes. The other teen stared at him, scowling, and both of them breathed out harshly as if trying to challenge the other to see who was more undone by it all.

Yugi shook his head, sighing softly. Then he squeezed his shoulder, mumbling, "Okay, you're freaking out.  _Why_ are you freaking out, Yami?"

Yami opened his mouth, then closed it so sharply that the air reverberated with his teeth as they clicked together. He huffed through his nose loudly enough that the smaller teen tilted his head. He stared up at him in open confusion, the frustration bleeding away instantly.

"Why are you freaking out?"

"I don't know. I don't fucking  _know_!" Yami snarled angrily. He was breathing harder than ever and glaring at him even as his shoulders quaked with the attempt to suppress a shiver. "If I fucking knew, I would not be freaking out right now,  _would_ I?"

Yugi blinked and then looked him over for a moment. Yami looked incredibly distressed, almost puzzled as well. When he reached up to touch his face, the deity began at first to pull away and then stopped at the last second. For a moment he eyed his hand warily. Then the next second he leaned forward enough to press his cheeks lightly into his fingers.

The action was an invitation to allow him more room to stroke his cheek. But it was obvious that the two of them had grown tense once more. And so they stared at each other, the seconds sluggish as they passed.

Yugi wasn't sure how to comfort him, but he did know that if he allowed him to go further, he would end up hurting him and thus himself. The idea was unappealing to him in every sense. And he could see the way his red eyes became unimpressed as well.

Yami may have wanted to kill him when it was all over. But for now he had no desire whatsoever to hurt him. The tension in his shoulders was still apparent beneath Yugi's hand. All of his frustration and nerves made him cranky and impatient and furious.

It had devastated every sense of calm he had ever possessed.4

"All right," he murmured softly. He nodded slightly, giving him a small, gentle smile. Yami blinked at him in confusion, furrowing his brows. "Okay, roll us over."

The confusion was swept away immediately. The raw distrust that came in its wake was enough to knock the air from Yugi's lungs. Those red eyes narrowed, his lip curling faintly with anger. "What?" he growled now, voice low and guttural, as if he might spring forward and tear his throat out despite himself.

"Come on, Yami, roll us over. You know I'm not going to hurt you," he coaxed softly. He ran a hand over his cheek and down to his chin, watching him as he leaned subconsciously into the gentle touch. "Just roll us over and relax, okay?"

Yami stared at him as if he had just spoken another language, something so complex and estranged from his own mind that he could not possibly fathom the meaning of his words. The thought rattled Yugi far more than he wished to admit.

But then those red eyes narrowed further. Yugi could see his jaw locking in place for a moment, as if he were trying to fight away both a verbal response and the initial instinct to lash out by biting him in the throat. His gaze had sharpened and he seemed to struggling to puzzle the statement out, trying his hardest not to spit at him in mounting frustration.

There was no trust to be found in the expression. There not the slightest sense of companionship, either. There was not a single hint of mild satisfaction or acceptance to be found in his eyes.

Nothing cushioned the clear hesitance.

Nothing helped to shelter the disdain.

Yugi felt his heart begin to ache in his chest. Yami looked so terribly troubled, as if he were at war with his need to take his energy and his own distrust of him. He did not want to give him power over this situation in any way…

The seconds passed in swift beats.

Yugi felt his heart hammering after what seemed to be long minutes of inaction. It occurred to him only then that Yami could simply pin him there and do what he wished. He could take and take until there was nothing left.

And he knew, looking at those darkened eyes, that Yami had come to the same conclusion. He was considering it as well, staring down at him with that cold expression of something almost akin hate.

Then, abruptly, as if he were unable to do more than stiffly clench at his skin, Yami moved. His hand slid under his back swiftly. His other braced against the mattress. The movement was so fast when he tossed them both sideways that Yugi didn't have time to even wrap his legs around his waist.

The small teen jostled sideways. His breath was pushed hard from his lungs. He nearly fell over the side of the bed. Then his hand clenched upon the comforter. His head spun, almost as badly as when he had dragged him into the room using his magic earlier. He panted, struggling to regain his sense of balance.

Then he blinked.

The other teen was rigid beneath him.

He was bristling. And his breath came in soft snarls. Yugi almost could not hear him doing so. The sound was so gentle in the quiet of the dead air that it seemed to be swallowed away and smothered into nothingness.

The smaller teen breathed out a weak exhale. But Yami did not seem more than simply stressed. He did not seem to have hurt himself in any way. And his chest was rising and falling in measured movements. His anxiety was harsh and angry. And his teeth were bared at him.

It occurred to Yugi only then that perhaps he should not have been so surprised to know that Yami was just as insecure about the entire situation as he himself was. He had admitted to being a virgin—or something to that effect, anyways; his grandpa  _had_ said he might simply be confused towards his origins at the moment—and this was his first time too.

The thought was mildly comforting, yes, but it did nothing to fix the majority of his nervous tension which claimed them both in a vice grip. He just had the ability to hide it better where Yami himself had cracked upon asking. It was not an obvious fracture.

But it was enough to say that Yami was slightly unsure. And it was clear that Yami had not cracked before the pressure had become too much. He had been forced to release his anxiety somehow, in whatever manner he could. And so, now he snarled. Now he panted and remained frozen beneath him. Now he glared furiously…

Yugi struggled for a moment to truly comprehend the depth of just how much he must have tried to smother it in order to keep himself together formerly. It had probably destroyed him for the most part. He shook his head after a long moment, trying to shift his thoughts away. Then he pressed a soft kiss to his neck.

Yami responded by means of snarling a little louder. It was a guttural breath, one so deep that Yugi felt his own spine tighten and knot beneath his skin. It reverberated within him, making his marrow liquid, and he breathed out a soft sigh. They stared at each other for a moment, the smaller teen hesitant before leaning forward to nuzzle his cheek.

"You have to relax."

"I don't want  _this_ ," Yami snarled hatefully into his ear. Yugi was more than mildly amazed that he did not try to bite into his skin there. "If had desired  _this_ , I would have said so before."

"You're the one so insistent about this whole sex thing."

"As in me fucking  _you_ , not you being the one to—"

Yugi hated the anger in his tone. But he was more than slightly undone by the way Yami seemed seconds away from quivering, the tension caught and straining beneath his skin. "Yami, why can't you just calm down a little bit?" he whispered in a voice that mixed with despair and desperation. "If you could just calm down, this might be easier…"

"I do not trust you enough to 'calm down', you disgusting little piece of shit."

Yugi would have cringed had he not expected such words to come out of his mouth in the first place. "And I don't trust you enough to let you do this again. When I agreed to this, I wasn't expecting you to try to tear my skin open."

Yami stayed silent for a long moment. The tension in his body loosed in a furious tremble. Yugi almost pulled back to look at him. But then the taller boy huffed. And the smaller teen had a startling thought that perhaps he heard a whisper of apology beneath the noise. But he could not be sure, as the noise nearly swallowed the words completely.

"It's okay," Yugi muttered, shaking the stunned daze from his system. He pulled back enough to flash him a small smile which he hoped seemed reassuring. "I'm not upset or anything. I just… I need you to calm down before I'll let you do that again. And you're obviously not relaxed enough for me to even  _consider_ it at the moment. Just… Maybe if I do it first you can follow by example?"

The red-eyed teen blinked, interest caught by the statement. He tilted his head after a moment, narrowing his dark eyes, and for that brief second he seemed to stare into Yugi as if peering beneath his skin and into his soul. Then, abruptly, as if such a moment had never come to occur, he nodded with a sharp expression.

"But, should you fuck this up, I will tear you limb from limb."

Yugi flushed, then burst out laughing with a small shake of his head. "I won't fuck this up, okay?" he said gently but part of him trembled at the idea. If a god could mess up, then surely he could as well… "I just…I'm not going to be all that great, so…a  _little_ leniency, please?"

"Whatever."

Yugi wished he could have gotten more of a response than that, but he would take what he could get at this point.

"Um…lube or—?"

"What the  _fuck_ did you just ask me?" Yami snapped, nearly panting with his ferocity. He bristled, snarling low in his throat when Yugi snorted and laughed before quickly biting his lip to smother the noise. "Are you insinuating that I'm too weak to go raw?"

"Okay, so obviously no lube." Yugi hardly saw a reason to try to explain to him that the use of lube or against it didn't determine much of anything. He shook his head and snickered a little louder. "But I mean, it's going to hurt some—"

"As long as you do not draw blood, I think it will be fine," he hissed coldly, scowling at him once more. "But if you should break my skin, I will kill you."

He also didn't see a reason to point out that lube was used almost specifically for that reason besides easy traction. "Really?" he asked instead, smirking. "You know that would kill you too, right? I mean…I'm just trying to make sure that you know that."

It wasn't said with insolence but Yami wished to beat it out of him all the same. He opened his mouth, prepared to snarl. But then he fell silent once more. His eyes glittered, staring up at Yugi almost blankly as he considered the words.

Then, dismissively, he waved his right hand in a flick of his wrist, a vague gesture to do as he wished. Yugi smiled at him, showing all of his apparent amusement. He had forgotten, somehow, in all that time arguing, that his death would bring Yami's as well. It was somehow hilarious and yet absolutely devastating all the same.

His hatred ran deep enough to harm his own self-preservation…

And that was something Yugi could not help but feel sick thinking about it.

"Just stay relaxed," he coaxed, cutting away his own thoughts and swallowing hard. There would be more time to puzzle through all of it later. He could think about it and further upset himself when Yami wasn't currently staring up at him with that dismissive expression. He didn't need to think that when they were finally going to do what Yami had been craving so desperately for what seemed like eternity now.

Yugi stretched himself out over him, one hand braced at his side, touching his ribcage with his thumb and tracing his fingers over the smooth skin. The small ridges of his bones were smooth and gentle in their arches, and he couldn't help but smile softly at the realization.

He looked so healthy when he was not tense. But there was also a touch to his skin that made it look slightly pulled and stretched too tightly, as if completely unnatural.

But hadn't Yami said formerly that his body was still being created? If he looked like this nose…perhaps it was not so much that he was underweight or sick. Maybe it was just that his body still lacked a few essential parts that would have made it perfect.

The idea made Yugi feel a little better. And he wondered if he should still ask him to eat if Yami would do so. Maybe he would truly gain something from the experience despite his earlier arguments that his energy was the only thing necessary.

He ran the index finger of his free hand over his erection once in an attempt to take some of the edge off. The action made Yami's eyes narrow slightly, a petulant gleam entering his red gaze. Yugi pulled his hand away, moving it wards instead as he considered the hint.

The other boy would not allow himself to be so easily distracted. He did not appreciate the gesture, either. He distrusted Yugi so much that he would not even consider the effort put behind such a gesture. So, instead, the smaller teen teased him as he had done with him beforehand, running the pad of his finger along his entrance. It took him a moment to grow comfortable with the action, kneading softly at the flesh a moment later. The grin that spread across his face was wide and amused as Yami began to purr with satisfaction towards such a sensation.

The noise was subconscious and hardly expected. And Yugi knew without thought that it had slipped from his throat without his realization.

Yami had been expected more of a fight, Yugi realized. He had been expecting more of a straightforward defense rather than the ease that had been coaxed out of him so simply. He, much like Yugi, had thought for sure that it would be a battle to make him relax so easily. They had both thought he would snap. The sensitivity had surprised them both, making Yami melt into the stimulation, all but mewling with his quick and easy and altogether eager responses. The smaller teen nipped at his jaw gently, coaxing Yami to grab his shoulder with one hand while the other wrapped around his ribs.

Should it not have been so rough, the nails pressed lightly into his skin, Yugi would have thought it a gesture of enjoyment. But then he felt the slight pressure and the warning became abundantly clear.

Should Yami find reason to, he would not hesitate to break his ribs.

Collateral damage would not dissuade him.

Yugi respected that silent declaration, the promise that lingered with the touch, and continued to rub his finger over his entrance. The touch was so light that the small teen almost felt that he himself could barely feel it. Finally, the other boy gave him a signal to move, his muscles submitting and ready for his finger.

Yugi hesitated for only a moment, hovering, but felt the way the other tensed beneath him in growing aggravation and so pressed in slowly. Instantly Yami's long fingers pressed in the most gossamer of touches against his ribcage. A small, lingering chill made his skin tingle faintly and he swallowed hard as he shivered and licked his lips nervously.

For a moment he rested there, finger only a little over halfway inside of him. And then he pressed a little deeper. The movement was received without discomfort or attempted rejection. The ease of its acceptance was somehow overwhelming to Yugi. He trembled, unsure of how else to express his relief, as Yami breathed in a tiny, slow exhale against his cheek in a nonchalant manner.

It was when he prodded with a second finger, brushing lightly and pushing gently, that Yami let out yet another low purr. His sensitivity to such touch made Yugi nearly tremble with delight. And the other boy tensed faintly as Yugi slipped his middle finger's tip into him. The snarl came loud and dangerous, his nails digging into the smaller teen's flesh with almost enough force to puncture his skin.

The force was merely bruising, Yugi realized with relief, but the power behind it was on clear display. It did not matter that the pressure was miniscule now. It mattered that if he did not heed the warning, Yami would crush his rubs altogether. The small teen froze in place, teeth digging into his lip. Alarm made his skin crawl, his throat clogging even as he tried to swallow hard.

He tried, in vain, to reassure Yami mentally that he would have stopped regardless.

They both felt the light sting which came with the addition of his second finger. And the sensation of it lingered under both teens' skin. Yugi was abruptly certain that, had he continued, the slight pressure would have become a hideous burn soon enough. So, laying there and breathing through his teeth to relax himself, Yami convinced himself to release the smaller boy's ribs. It was instinct that kept them both so still now, however. The warning was clear to both of them, relating to them both that should Yami tense he would come to hurt himself further.

A small trickle of blood came from the crescent-shaped marks on his side. Yami blinked at the sensation of warmth against his fingertips. Yugi hissed softly, more in surprise than pain, and the failure of an apology was welcome to them both.

For a moment longer they remained completely still.

Then, breathless, Yugi whispered, "Hurt?"

"No."

"Uncomfortable?"

"Yes."

Yugi nodded slightly, about to say something further, but then he found himself falling silent once more. He was startled as Yami closed his eyes and mumbled, "Hurt?"

It took the small teen a moment to realize he meant the small cuts. He drew in a deep breath, then exhaled, "No."

"Uncomfortable?"

"Yeah."

They were quiet again.

Yugi breathed out a soft sigh but did not move his fingers any further inside of him. The red-eyed boy beneath him remained statuesque. Then he breathed softly and his fingers twitched gently. For a minute longer the deity failed to move. Then his eyes snapped open, curious and confused—and altogether self-conscious if Yugi were to be truthful with himself—to stare at the smaller boy blankly.

Yugi gave him a small smile, then laughed softly. "I just wanted to see your eyes," he admitted in that same breathless tone. "I wanted to make sure I wasn't hurting you."

His finger slipped further inside of him and Yami wrinkled his nose but did not fight him. There was no tension beyond a small squirm of discomfort. And the smaller teen stretched his fingers in a scissoring motion.

Yami tilted his head, blinking at him and wrinkling his nose once more. But there was no pain to be found and so the other continued his prodding. A small purr was elicited from the taller teen, the pleasure uncomfortable and bemusing to him. The sting had faded away into near nothingness and the sensation was steadily growing more familiar as Yugi continued to play with his preparations.

Yami's eyelids fell steadily lower until they became hooded, and his eyes were so dark that they seemed almost black for a split second where the shadows danced in them. The effect faded again immediately, however, as Yugi began to prepare for a third finger. Abruptly, as if he had been struck with a knife or a white-hot poker, the purr cut away completely. In its place came a hideous snarl and the deity's face twisted into an expression of avid hatred and something almost akin disbelief.

"Hey,  _hey_ ," Yugi soothed, eyes wide, but there was also a small bite of sharpness which had come to leak into his tone. "I am  _not_ going to hurt you. I know it's uncomfortable and it stings a little, but it's okay. I won't hurt you—at all, okay? I promise I'm not going to hurt you."

For a moment Yugi's words seemed to fall on deaf ears. His lips remained curled back, his eyes blazing. And the disgust on his face was clear as he stared back at the smaller teen. He snarled softly again, his fingers still bearing down upon his skin as his nails curled inwards. Both of them stared at one another, expressions full of alarm and frustration.

It passed in what felt like hours of intense silence. The time seemed to move sluggishly, as if they were simply amidst molasses. Yet, finally, Yami began to relent. Desperation had clawed at his insides, reminding him once more why it was that he needed to go through with it all.

Had he not required Yugi's energy through sexual release, none of this would have happened. It was only his own necessity which kept them in this situation and thus he had no true place to grow so hateful. But it did not stop the emotion from rearing up in his gut violently, the very force of it alone almost enough to make him lash out.  
Yami forced himself to relax, a sharp and hideous sigh of an exhale slipping past his lips. He hesitated, but then pulled his hand away from the other's skin to run his tongue over his fingers. When he pressed the tips lightly upon his skin, Yugi nearly shivered. Had it been anyone else, he might have bristled and felt disgusted.

Yet, somehow, it was almost intimate and beautiful in an awkward sense. It seemed, almost, for only a moment, as if he truly cared that the bleeding stopped and the sting be eased. It seemed more for his own personal benefit but Yugi did wonder.

The small teen stretched his fingers to splay them apart as the other teen's face twisted in discomfort and slight disgust. It was somehow exciting. Yet he was utterly displeased to realize that his penis would be an extremely tight and intensely awkward fit. Yami was not going to be very happy with it if he was already so sensitive during simple prep.

He moved his fingers into a triangular shape, working to stretch him further. And he felt amusement drift through him as Yami wrinkled his nose again, but did not pause in his purring. His red eyes looked somehow stunned, as if they had grown several sizes larger than usual. Yugi wondered if it was because of the new sensation or the thought that had crossed his mind moments before.

The way his red eyes glimmered with confusion made him look immensely young and innocent. If Yugi had not known him to stick his hand down his pants at his own whim, he might have thought he was entirely awkward beneath him like this.

But there was some small rather  _stray_ kind of beauty to the expression that made him shiver slightly. The very expression of such blatant confusion and innocence made something inside of him warm with delight. And Yugi could not help but laugh softly as he began to scissor once more, pumping between each action, and stretched him to the fullest he was capable with his fingers.

"Are you ready or do you want another finger?"

Yugi could not tell if it sounded mildly disgusting or dirty to the other boy. Or if perhaps he simply sounded extremely naïve and small.

But he could feel the fear and shock coiling within his stomach. There was a brief, singular moment of which Yugi felt winded. He wanted to pull away entirely for a long moment. He sincerely wanted to reconsider this deal they had come to make together. Maybe he could even negotiate new terms.

But he realized, abruptly, that they were both naked. And he was still prepping him. But the reality of it made his skin crawl. They were already so close and yet he was so afraid he did not know if he could truly go any further.

Being on top did not make him any more courageous than it made his eyes green rather than blue-violet. It was somehow horrifying to think of how much control he held at this moment. But he wished to be able to hand the majority of it to the other boy as he considered more fully his discomfort.

He smothered the sensation, however. And he hoped to the gods that Yami did not lose his nerves nor sense that his own were fraying. The red-eyed teen might very well lash out. But Yugi reminded himself that this was—in some way—a justice given over for his own faulty abuse of limited knowledge of his Puzzle.

The red-eyed teen was silent for what felt like hours. His eyes flickered with something like distrust, however, and it made them darken more considerably. For the smallest of moments Yugi wished he might follow that sensation. He wished he would fall upon it completely, force him away entirely. But then it faded altogether and Yami merely gave him a brusque nod as if it forced him to make up his own mind.

"Okay," Yugi murmured. He was surprised how much tension made his voice seem weaker and smaller altogether. He forced himself to breathe out evenly once more. "Relax and stay still for me, Yami."

If it had not been for his own good, Yami thought perhaps any other time he would have argued. His mouth opened and closed, his eyes flashing like sharp knives beneath the sun, and then he forced himself to clench his jaw again. Between the two of them Yugi could not tell who caused such tension. His own body was so taut he felt he mirrored a drawn bowstring. And beneath him, Yami was working to keep his body as receptive to his touch as he could.

His hand moved from his ribs to his shoulders. The nails dug gently into his skin, and his breath came out in a harsh gust of air. He nodded, blinking once, and then his eyes sharpened like dagger blades. He watched him, cold and frozen beneath him, and Yugi fought a shiver as his blood began to rush and yet freeze all at once.

He licked his lips, focusing entirely on the expression which riddled the red-eyed boy's face, and swallowed hard as he considered himself for a long moment. It was ridiculous how fearful he had become in the last few seconds. He wondered if it was the power the other boy had handed him so unhappily, or if it was simply the idea of this action in and of itself.

He wondered briefly, looking down to avoid to the way Yami's eyes seemed to cut through him like teeth, if he could keep his fingers like this. If he could keep them stretched and open so fully long enough to enter the boy, then surely it would not be too stressful. He had never considered it before, as he had never had reason to as he, like Yami, had assumed the positions to be opposite. They had both assumed that it would be Yami on top and himself on bottom.

It seemed only natural that a deity would take position above and himself below…

Yugi could make him stretch that far if he needed. He knew that the body was accustomed to such measures when it came to sex. It was how one was kept from tearing tissue after the act. The body naturally adapted to the actions…

He shook his head to scattered the thought. It was not worth puzzling over when he knew the other might grow impatient sooner rather than later. "Lift your legs up for me and wrap them around my waist, okay?" he instructed. He paused for a moment, then flushed brightly as a new thought occurred to him. He could not stop himself when he blurted out, "Slowly, Yami! Really slowly!"

His tone caught Yami off guard enough to make him blink wide red eyes, shocked by the urgency in his voice. Then his lips began to pull and twist into a tight frown which bordered an annoyed grimace. For a moment he merely gave Yugi that same expression, blinking so that it would become nothing more than a blank disapproval at his suggestion.

But his hips rose enough that he could wrap his legs around Yugi's waist as slowly as possible without the loss of momentum. His former impatience was brought to the forefront of both of their minds again. And, for the briefest of seconds, Yami seemed to imagine throwing Yugi onto his back and entering him instead. But it was shaken off again, dissipating long before he even moved again.

He looked tired and resigned to this position now. There was such dejection in his expression that Yugi nearly flinched away from him entirely. But the other boy's weight held him fast, seeming abruptly to grow far heavier than it ever had before. And Yugi was abruptly aware of his inability to do more than simply follow his original plan to stretch him as fully as he could.

He twisted his wrist, angling it to continue to hold the other open as much as possible. But a sharp jolt of pain came through his bones in angry retaliation. He hissed and Yami blinked at him, looking towards his own wrist in surprise. Yugi ignored this, however, running his tongue over his teeth.

If he could do this, then it might make it easier for Yami when he tried it later as well.

Yet, somehow, despite himself, he was unsurprised when it did not work.

There was just not enough room for him to slip his erection inside of the other boy with his fingers splayed as they were. Even his various attempts to change his position and pivot his wrist did nothing to gain him more room.

So, instead, he huffed unhappily at his inability and pulled his hand away completely. He shuffled his hips forward, his weight tipped forward. The mattress creaked beneath them with the new movement, groaning a soft protest, and Yugi watched as Yami frowned momentarily at this change of position.

The new intrusion, as slow and seemingly hesitant as it was, made a snarl creep up through his throat. His expression turned into one of increasing displeasure and caution, red eyes flashing brilliantly. Yugi frowned for a moment, though a small sense of new and disturbing elated pride came through him as well.

"Sorry—bigger than my fingers," he muttered. He gave him an awkward smile though his insides were growing more rapidly warm with approval at this new height of connection between them.

He licked his lips even as Yami stared at him with clear, blank annoyance. Yugi was abruptly desperate to lean forward now, to either kiss him with bruising force or draw his bottom lip into his mouth. He wanted more than ever to taste the deity's tongue, so strong and beautiful, against his own.

"Well, actually, I'm not sorry. It would be pretty disappointing if I wasn't."

Yami chuckled quietly for a brief moment but it was over again swiftly. His face twisted up, scrunched as his eyes narrowed in surprise. He eased his way further, slow and torturous, and was almost inclined to ask him if he wanted to stop.

It was a vague idea which passed through them both that he might pull out again. It was so abrupt, in fact, that it caused both of them to falter in their union.

But it also came to Yugi that Yami had not stopped him before and would not now either. But still the small teen was torn between impulses. He could push in all the way, or he could pull away again and refuse to attempt it a second time.

He didn't want to hurt Yami.

And the red-eyed teen did not seem entirely pained, but he did not seem comfortable either.

And Yugi almost feared that he was simply missing the touch of pain that the other boy might have felt. Was it possible that his excitement was somehow cutting away the sensation he should have felt as well?

His hips snapped suddenly.

Yugi let out a strangled cry. Yami writhed, hissing in clear distress. The movement caused the bed to creak.

Yugi trembled, gaping. Yami snarled softly and clawed at his spine. His nails were cutting lightly into his skin. The small teen worried for a moment that he was going to carve his way into his bones.

Yami's red eyes squeezed shut, jaw snapping shut with an audible click. He quivered once, then snarled again. When his eyes opened again, they flashed brightly with pain and frustration. His grip on Yugi's skin grew rougher. He scrabbled as if trying to find purchase. His breathing came out in a rough pant.

Then he writhed, somewhere between panic and pain and anger. He moved so violently that his grip seemed almost to break Yugi's back. The small teen was tugged closer, nearly falling face-first into the pillow beneath Yami's head. The deity growled and sank his nails into his skin further. His shaking was quelled only a few minutes later, his breathing harsh and vicious.

Abruptly Yami's nose pressed into his neck. His hands drifted from his back and shoulders, finding their way into his hair. His fingers tangled there and he breathed harder again. But the shaking came a moment later, his snarl escalating. His teeth lightly grazed his collarbone.

And then he hissed softly into his skin. Yugi swallowed hard, wishing more than ever that he could have sworn that nothing like this would have happened. He wished he could have ensured Yami now that nothing like this would happen again.

But the trembling was growing more erratic. And the ache between them was hideous, burning in and under his skin.

Yami had hurt himself in his haste, and the pain was enough to make Yugi want to crawl away from him altogether. But Yami held him in a vice grip, aching, and he almost thought the deity might try to bury himself within him somehow. He quivered, guilt burning through his twisting stomach, and Yami panted again, more harshly than ever, against his slim throat.

 _A-are you okay_? Yugi finally managed to whisper. He shifted his face to the side, just enough that he could rub his cheek against Yami's in what he hoped was a comforting motion for the other. He hoped to the gods that the deity would not be further harmed by such an attempt.

The answer he was given in response was nails which raked upon his spin. Yugi arched his back like a cat, unable to help himself as he drew in a deep and unsteady breath.

 _Fine_ , the red-eyed teen snarled in his mind.  _Just do not fucking move_.

"I won't," Yugi assured him, voice laden with fearful tension. His muscles strained and weakened with distress. He rubbed his cheek against his once more, breathing out harder. Yami was not shaking anymore, the pain easing itself slowly but surely. But there was something else quickly taking its place as well now.

Yugi was unable to shake it, nor even fully confront it now. A strange, instinctual fear had come over him, coursing first through Yami and then him. It was apparent he was not the cause of it, however.

But he could not bring himself to question it either.

If he asked, he feared Yami might become desperate to prove him wrong.

He might lash out, move too soon, hurt himself further…

What if he wound up tearing something?

Or what if Yugi was forced to pin him down to keep him from hurting himself?

Who knew what might happen after that?

If he moved too soon, he would definitely have to pin him. He would not allow Yami to hurt himself further. It might get him punched or his face carved with nails, but it was not a question.

If he thought for even a moment that Yami might hurt himself, he would restrain him.

Yugi moved his right hand away from where it rested next to his ribs. His fingers drifted gently over his hipbone, making Yami shudder. He pressed his nose into Yami's cheek, relieved by the cool softness which greeted him there. And then, as he rubbed, Yami fell back against the pillow with something of a small, nonchalant sigh of gratitude.  _Move_ , he growled softly, a rough and guttural noise despite his relaxed stance.

The smaller teen took a second to adapt to this new feeling of filling him now that he was somewhere sure Yami was okay. And, despite himself, he reveled in the way that his inaction seemed to make the other boy bristle in frustration. Then, slowly, Yugi dragged himself out and pushed forward again in a gentle rocking motion.

A hand moved in his hair again, rubbing at the nape of his neck. He kneaded gently at the flesh there, soft and without his sharp nails. Yami's eyes closed, his brows furrowing faintly, and he twitched uncomfortably as he continued his movements. Then he curled his lip back slightly, allowing his left canine to press against his bottom lip visibly for Yugi to see.

The effort of which he put into concentrating on that feeling of Yugi moving seemed almost overshadowed by the awkward and fumbling rhythm. This inability to truly come up with more than simple rocking back and forth in slow drags seemed to be eating at Yami's lacking patience. But moving too soon had only caused him pain formerly and the deity was nothing if not smart enough to ignore his former mistake.

He was not one to repeat a repercussion of such magnitude with conscious thought once more. Adaptation was a skill that he did not second guess. Such action as to put himself through a second dose of pain without necessity was not within his nature. His very core was that of survival, and wounding oneself unnecessarily was not such a thing he took into consideration.

Awkward fumbling and rocking back and forth as Yugi found some kind of confidence and self-assurance would have to do. Besides, the small teen had been very upfront about it all. He had told him without hesitance that he would not be too amazing to him as it was his first time doing such a thing…

But far be it him to accept his own displacement in this situation. His inability to move without harming himself was nothing that was surprising either, however. He did not know much about the endurance of his human frame. And he did not want to risk further wounding himself or Yugi.

So he settled more fitfully against the pillow. His teeth pressed a little further into his lip, however, and he hesitated to do more than keep his eyes shut and his focus so solely on this new, more invasive action between the two of them.

Had he opened his eyes to look at him, Yami would have found Yugi watching him as closely as he was trying to focus on their union. He was purposely avoiding a rhythm over finding exactly where and what spots he could go without harming the deity. He angled to push deeper than before, as far as he could. The angle was just enough to allow him to drag over Yami's prostate, startling him but eliciting a strange snarl of excitement and pleasure from Yami beneath him.

The deity's lips twitched again, though now his curled lip fell back into place. Yugi shivered, relieved that there was no longer that tense, displeased expression worn upon his face. His tooth no longer threatened to puncture through his skin and draw blood. And the noise was still vibrating within them both, resonating beautifully in their cores.

Yugi moved his hands to further stretch himself out over the other teen until both of their bodies were pulled to their fullest. He lowered his mouth to his ear, breathing softly against it, the movement surprising them both. Yami was growling now, the noise a soft and low rumbling as Yugi moved once more to brush against that spot.

The smaller teen slipped a hand beneath Yami's back, the deity arching and twisting to accommodate him silently. The action delighted the smaller teen, making him lower his cheek to the other's as he wrapped his arm around his back firmly. Yugi shivered, welcoming the addition of such cooler body heat against his own overheated body. The satisfaction was simple and easy, the small bit of contact all but overwhelming him for a split second.

The taller scoffed against his cheek. The movement was deliberately slow and soft, so that his breath bathed over his skin like a winter breeze. He thought briefly of the snow touching his skin and Yugi reveled in such a gentle touch. He wished for a moment that he could have melted into it all, nearly purring with satisfaction once more.

"So, how does it feel then?" Yami asked slowly, quietly, cutting into his thoughts entirely.

He seemed almost hesitant, yet haughty as well, and Yugi wondered at this thought. He did not know what it was that Yami really meant to ask him, either. His immediate thought was that of just how  _fucking tight_ he was around him, how hot and pulsating he seemed despite his usually cold body warmth. His second thought was to say that he felt like a fire personified with his spike of body heat.

Then he wanted, more than anything, to say something along the lines of just how  _amazing_ it was that this all felt. He trembled with delight, wanting to laugh at himself for his own vulgarity. Then he felt abashed, becoming embarrassed and somewhat horrified by the thought that perhaps Yami was listening to him now.

He tried several times to form words, or somehow string together something that he could possibly put into the air between them. But much of it made him feel weak and stupid. And another part of him was distressed by the idea of phrasing something wrong and causing Yami offense.

"Like you just gave me a really great gift."

It was just enough to encompass the slight relief in his voice. And it did well to avoid any potentially harmful phrasing. Aside from the fact that Yami might perhaps spitefully point out that deities were given gifts and never mortals. He could easily say that only mortals showed homage if he truly wished to.

Yami snorted loudly and skeptically into his ear. The volume and the noise itself made Yugi jerk back slightly in surprise. He blinked, looking at him with wide eyes, and then frowned as they stared at one another for a moment. He thought he might bring up his former thoughts, maybe even sneer them at him and watch him writhe shamefully at the idea.

But, despite the obvious inquiry of his choice words and the way he looked at Yugi so cynically, the deity did not speak.

And then something occurred to him, so suddenly that Yugi nearly gaped at the other boy in shock at the very idea.

"I—I'm having sex with a  _god_ ," he mumbled, unable to force the awed amazement from his voice as he opened and closed his mouth once. Eyes nearly twice their normal size, heart pounding in his ears, he blinked at the other boy in shocked uncertainty.

 _Was_ he truly a god?

Was he truly  _having sex with a god_?

It was somehow paralyzing to come across the thought and face it at its natural value. It was immeasurable and overwhelming to consider the strength of it. And it was overwhelming now to consider that the red-eyed teen beneath him was so dangerously out of his league in species.

The thought made him quiver.

And his gaping did not stop. His mouth merely fell back open no matter his numerous attempts to shut and keep it shut. And, amused as he was, Yami found no pleasure in the other's startled, horrified expression. Had he not snarled at him viciously this very point several times before, it would have been humorous.

But he'd told him many times of his divine status, though Yugi had turned a blind eye to it and ignored much of his furious declarations. And the doubt was still there. Yami could sense it, flickering between them two, and his lips curled back to show his teeth in open hatred of his disregard.

"Sorry."

Though Yugi was now humble and almost bore a semblance of humility, Yami hated him. Yugi's head was bowed and his eyes were on his collarbones, somewhat ashamed, but the apology did nothing to soothe the deity's mounting anger.

"Whatever," he snapped spitefully, voice bordering a sneer. The word was close to becoming a snarl of distaste as he glared at him. "Just move faster."

The smaller boy nodded slightly, gaining just enough speed with the inward thrust to make Yami purr loudly and pull him closer again. His anger dissipated with the influx of pleasure, his nails scraping lightly over Yugi's skin, forcing him somehow impossibly closer. A small but overpowering throb of need swept through them both, so hard that it was on the very edge of becoming incredibly painful.

Yugi licked his lips against the other boy's again.

He needed him.

For how long was the question, however.

Was it only that moment?

Would it be longer?

It took him several moment to realize that the touch that lingered on his shoulders now was not a gesture to pull him closer. In fact, his palms were on the front of his narrow bones, his fingers digging into his skin on the back. His hands were encompassing his shoulders entirely, holding them in a position that, in any other situation, would have made him capable of pushing him back.

The action of pressing lightly on his shoulders was gentle and soft. Yugi blinked, startled as the realization came to him that Yami meant to speak to him. The smaller teen pulled back only enough to face him fully. There was no embrace Yami wished to offer him, only a cold and lingering rejection.

It was as if a bucket of water had been dumped over his head. Or maybe it was as if the heavens had just opened and a personal rainstorm was waging overhead for Yugi now. He shivered but the intensity in the other boy's eyes did not waver. His red gaze was swirling, dancing with vibrant sparks of harsh embers like a fire being brought back to life.

The way his lips curled back was a sneer of amusement and distaste. Yugi faltered, shivering. Clearly Yami had no plans to stay for as long as the smaller boy had been imagining. The reality was harsh and cold, one that nearly winded the blue-violet-eyed boy altogether.

Yugi felt immediately stupid for his own former thoughts, his entire body rebelling at the incredulous idea. Yami had no such desires to be tied down further than he already was. He had, after all, been bound to him by his own stupidity by giving Yami a name and identity that he was forced to answer to.

He thought it a blessed mercy that he did not open his mouth and form the words. He was not sneering at him as he could have. The severity of the situation was not given another, more horrifying light yet again either. Yugi was sure he would have become incredibly sick if Yami had spoken again.

He didn't want to hear the words again, the crushing feeling in his gut already enough as it was. For a moment Yami smirked at him as if the thought were the most fun he'd considered, the best to have crossed their minds in months. He looked at him as the Cheshire cat might have, given several bowls of cream and a mouse in gift wrapping. And he appeared ready to pounce on him at any moment.

Then his eyes closed and he purred softly, almost laughing with delight.

It was weird, but each long, smooth stroke made Yugi wonder if perhaps he might be losing a bit of himself and gaining something of Yami in the meantime. He still could not find it in his mind, his vast expanse of vocabulary, to describe the amount of completion and power which came with this action.

His heart was beating erratically in his chest now, Yami breathing softly in sync with it. Then he let loose odd little pants that made him shiver in surprise. It was temporary by all means, but still it was there, if nothing else.

 _You think too hard about insignificant things_ , Yami's voice snarled in his head. Yugi blinked, shivering as he caught the sharp look on his face.  _Do not complicate it further than it already is_.

The smaller boy let out a little laugh, nodding to himself even as he muttered, "It's already bad enough" in full agreement. It was so low in tone that the other teen narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. Yami was forced to strain his ears in order to catch the words, nodding shortly in response as he considered them fully.

His lips twisted and pulled into a wide smirk, eyes dancing with a cruel and overbearing amusement. His teeth glittered for a brief moment and his tongue flicked over his top incisors as he watched him. His expression made Yugi pause, alarm making him bristle faintly before frowning at him in puzzlement.

His red eyes glimmered again, cunning and sharp, with more than light touches of menace and brutality.

"What?"

For a long minute Yami remained silent. Then he chuckled loudly and shook his head slowly. "Oh, little game, tell me something," he purred softly. "What is your definition of using someone?"

"…I don't know. I never really thought about it before."

"Then allow me to tell you that you are wrong if you think that I will ever grow to take care of you or respect you in any way. I have not the  _slightest_ interest in what you request of a partner." He stated the words simply, in the calmest voice Yugi had ever heard him speak in, though his tone grew somewhat distasteful towards the last word. "I am only here to get my new existence sorted, even if only in the most miniscule of ways. I know from basic survival that I need not waste time finding other humans to partake in this mindless action with. Seeing as I am bound to you in such a way, you are my sole source of life and power and even identity, understand? Nothing beyond that will ever come to matter to me. You will be sorely disappointed with the effort I will put into anything more should you ask for it. I will  _never_ give you more than what is necessary for my own benefit. Regard this as your warning, for you will not get another one."

"I know that."

"Then  _act_ as if you do," Yami spat coldly, baring his teeth for a split second with a furious snarl like the undercurrent of thunder rumbling softly in the darkness. He pulled Yugi somehow closer still, until their bodies were pressed too tightly together for even a piece of paper to be slid between them. The action halted all of his movement and the long digits stroked for a moment over the nape of the smaller boy's neck as he closed his eyes.

"Is there any way I could actually get you  _out_ of my head?" Yugi sighed after a long moment. His words made Yami release him somewhat, his fingers hovering against the back of his skull, and Yugi regained his momentum.

Still, despite his efforts, he could not for the life of him find a rhythm for which he could make his movements steady. Instead he only moved slightly faster. The slighter speed did well to allow Yugi to prevent causing Yami any further discomfort. This way the red-eyed boy would not snarl and snap at him furiously in response to such a sensation.

"Maybe if you were to think in a  _softer_ voice, it might help," Yami scoffed, rolling his crimson eyes and briefly studying the ceiling overhead. His face twisted for the merest of moments and then his focus slid back towards him slowly.

"I wasn't aware I was supposed to regulate that."

"You are a naturally loud person. In contrast me, Yugi, you are predominantly an extroverted person whereas I am quiet and introverted. Because of this, you are far noisier than I am myself. Perhaps, if you wish for me to remain out of your head, however, you might think to work on that."

"So, I'd have to completely change my personality to lower the volume of my thoughts?"

"I suppose. If you would like to believe such a thing."

Yugi was not comforted by the statement, instead bristling and snapping, "You aren't going to be here often enough for me to actually need to bother with that, though, are you, Yami?"

The harshness of his reprimand made Yami blink, but then he snorted and smirked in amusement. "Your mind is connected to mine; whether I am nearby or  _not_ , I will always hear you."

Yugi shuddered, considering him. "Wow. That's…really got to suck."

"It is certainly hindering. And highly unfavorable. Especially when, despite everything, it is  _you_ who I hear  _over my very own thoughts_!" Yami snarled viciously. He appeared almost ready to lunge at him before falling silent briefly. His rage spent for the smallest of moments, he snapped his hips against him quickly. A purr escaped him even as he breathed in sync with the smaller boy's heart once more.

"Am I really?"

Yugi blinked in confusion. "Really what?"

"Breathing in sync with your heartbeat."

The smaller teen was quiet for a long moment, taking some time to adjust to this new speed Yami had introduced. He thought to ignore the question, but the reality of it made him shiver as he met those bright red eyes again, curious and wondrous.

"Yeah."

"Huh."

Yugi supposed he should have been glad that was the extent of their conversation on such a subject. But the coldness of it still made his bones feel incredibly weak. Regardless, he turned his head to kiss along the edge of the other boy's jaw, coaxing gently for movement that Yami ignored pointedly for a moment. But Yugi persisted, kissing and coaxing, until a sense of exasperation came between them both and Yami's nails lightly ran over his shoulder.

Yugi almost laughed out loud. Yami ignored him again, but the constant sensation was distracting. And, when Yugi ran his tongue over the column of his throat, the red-eyed teen finally responded. He rolled his eyes towards the ceiling, hissing out a breath in annoyance, and then tipped his head so that their lips could press together again. He was rewarded with a harder thrust, making his fingers curl unconsciously so that his nails dug into his skin. Yugi's back arched beneath his fingers and he moaned softly into his mouth with approval.

 _You're warming up_ , Yugi noted happily. He was delighted beyond himself by the simplicity of the fact. Yami was indeed growing somewhat warmer, though he was still cold to the touch as he normally was. He purred with relief, further delighted by it all, and the action startled Yami enough to make him halt his movements where his tongue had been playing with his. His nails curled faintly into his skin again, grasping at him in momentary surprise which passed abruptly as he returned to his movements.

 _It happens sometimes_ , he returned dismissively. He bucked against him rather shamelessly, so forceful that Yugi nearly stumbled. He scrambled, surprised by the action, and tried his hardest now to keep up with their newest pace.

Teeth caught his lip with enough force to make him yelp and still briefly. Yami was snarling softly but he did not form words of protest. Rather he continued this loud, mindless and hideous noise that made the smaller boy's head spin.

 _Did I hurt you_? Yugi demanded immediately, horrified and unprepared for the moment that Yami's brilliant eyes snapped open once more and boring into his viciously. There was such power and movement within them, like water rippling, that he was so mesmerizing he almost buckled beneath the force of it. A new sensation of pleasure swept through him, tackling his body in vibrant waves. Yugi trembled briefly with the terrible touch, remembering for a moment the first time they had met.

 _Your ribs are not broken_ , Yami replied coldly instead, severing Yugi's sense of security in that powerful pleasure. But, as if he sensed it and wished to make up for it somehow, the red-eyed boy moaned into his mouth and pulled him closer. His fingers tangled into the hair at the nape of his hair, tugging it lightly, and gripped hard enough to make Yugi wince painfully.

The pain of the touch gave him immense pleasure, however. And Yugi nearly cried out with it, unable to stop himself. It was electrified and gentle, the smaller teen feeling Yami draw him even closer to him now.

Briefly he acknowledged Yami's earlier words, that there need to be as much skin on skin contact as possible. There was a low and melodious purr to answer him, granting him the confirmation he had been wondering about it. It vibrated down his throat, swallowed easily, as their tongues remained tied and he moved faster for a moment.

Yugi pulled back, finally, panting for breath as Yami began to guffaw around his own heavy breaths. The sound was odd and enticingly mesmerizing, beautiful beyond what Yugi could describe. The fingers on his neck moved, tracing unfamiliar patterns and alternating between light and heavier, deeper touches. A low, squirming moan came from his lungs, drawn tight from the exhilaration of the other's fingers.

 _Sensitive, hmm_?  _It seems to be something we both share, yes_?

Yugi was not sure that he liked the way Yami contemplated the remark, the way it curled in his head like a drifting wind and sent a chill down his spine. The sensation of it as it moved through his mind was that of a burning, licking touch to each of his nerve endings. It was electrifying and cold and yet warmer than he dared to focus on.

His arms buckled, Yami laughing into his ear in delight. Yugi swore his brain was shutting down for a moment, his satisfaction making him all but collapse atop him. For a split second, everything seemed to become nothing more than the sensation of the other boy clenching around him, his orgasm matching his. It was nothing but an unwinding spiral of delirious heat, sultry tension, passionate violence and steady twisting.

And Yugi was rendered incapable of thought or expression altogether.

The deity continued to stroke his hair, playing with a few long strands. His fingers massaged at his skin, light traces of the tips where they danced here or there. It drew Yugi back to reality just enough to recognize the world was slipping back into place around him. His pulse was pounding and fire was shooting through his veins as he lifted his head just enough to look at the other day.

He was still snickering softly, breathless little noises, and his fingers continued their gentle ministrations. But it was Yami's eyes that caught his attention. They were dark and dilated, burning with a harsh edge like broken glass and a mirroring softness like that of the plushest down.

Yugi shivered and lowered his head again, listening to his heartbeat as he pressed his ear to his chest comfortably. His eyes closed tightly, a feeling of something primitive having broken loose inside of him. It seemed to pace restlessly back and forth like a caged animal.

Yugi pulled away after what felt like hours of being against his colder body, breathing hard and trembling before rolling over to lie beside him. The fingers in his hair remained tangled and his movements did not even cease for the briefest of moments. His red eyes flickered towards him for a moment, unreadable in expression, and then they drifted to the walls around them.

They were such a bright, glorious blue, and he wanted nothing more than to lash out at the very color. It was disgusting and mocking, something that seemed almost as if it were meant to keep his optimism higher than he cared to. It was almost as if it might rejuvenate him when his body felt so often ready to fall to pieces. The thought made him snarl before a small smirk came across his lips and he narrowed his eyes. Perhaps he could simply  _destroy_ the color.

He was a god.

Surely he could wipe it from exhaustion, could he not?

Yugi huffed, still struggling to catch his breath beside him.

"How are you not winded?" the sixteen-year-old muttered with a puzzled expression. His lips were pursed, his eyes but thin slits as he peered at him through his long lashes. He tilted his head and frowned when Yami did not turn towards him.

"We just did something that brought more power to me. Why might I be winded?" the red-eyed teen snorted, though now he tilted his head towards him curiously. It was not solely his emotion, but it was enough to make Yami smirk a little wider and turn finally to face Yugi once more. "You should try to take in larger breaths. Holding them and then breathing out for a set amount of seconds will do you will. It does well to promote easier pacing."

Yugi opened his mouth to ask how he would know that and then fell silent. A wave of shame came crashing through him as he pulled his pillow closer to himself instead. It came to him in a small flash, painful and disorienting as he blinked.

Yami had told him that he had previously been unable to make his lungs work properly at first. He had said he had worried that he was dying by some inexplicable source of magic. So it was not at all surprising to realize that the other had come to realize that he had to find his own way to balance such disability so as not to be rendered useless.

He was nothing if not a survivalist.

He would adapt endlessly if he was presented the chance.

Yami would survive anything if he only got the opportunity.

The smaller teen pulled the pillow closer to him still. When he swallowed, a knot had formed in the back of his throat. The other boy had clearly thrown the statement out as a cruel reminder of his mistake. And he had thrown this acid barb as well.

He watched Yami as he sat up straight and stretching himself out. His back arched like that of a graceful feline. His arms dropped his arms to his lap again. Then his eyes flickered around him lazily. He furrowed his brows as he watched him, crossing his arms and twisting himself more to face him. Yugi's nose brushed against his hip and instinct almost caused him to recoil fearfully. He thought for a moment that he might upset Yami altogether, but instead forced himself to press a little further into the cold skin there.

The other boy did not pause even at his silent questioning.

"I thank you for keeping your half of the deal we made," Yami stated, effectively causing Yugi to cringe and pull back in a violent recoil. His head snapped up as he sat up slightly in shock at the statement, and the red-eyed teen got to his feet. His red gaze shot about the room, taking in several things that Yugi was unsure he really cared to glance at, and then began to purr softly.

He seemed to move with a new and graceful energy, so fast that he barely seemed to bend over to grab his clothes from the ground in the first place. Yugi did not make a move to object, however, instead breathing in deeply and exhaling softly as he settled into the pillow again. He watched him curiously around taking in the curve of his ass.

He had known, of course, that it would be over and Yami would leave soon enough.

But it seemed entirely too ridiculous to put into words how quickly Yami was doing so.

Yami glanced at him sideways. His brow rose slowly, showing disagreement, and then he turned away again to pull on his boxers. His actions were fluid and swift as he dressed himself once more. When he was finished, he stretched his arms out in front of him and glanced about the room to find his shoes.

He kicked one of them, drawing it closer to him, then snatched a sock off the floor and began to pull it back on. The other was quickly clothed moments later as Yami spun on his heel to face the desk. An annoyed look was shot at the Puzzle upon realizing it was there and he snarled as his lip curled back.

Not once did he grace Yugi with a glance. The cold shoulder he cast him made the smaller teen feel almost queasy. And the blue-violet-eyed teen felt smaller than ever, watching him with an incredibly hurt look. But he had signed up for this, had he not? He had agreed to this, knowing that Yami would not remain there…

Yami had turned away from him completely, as if he had suddenly grown to know humility and the strength of modesty. Then he pulled his other shoe on without a second glance.

Yugi blinked, stiffening now as realization came over him. Yami was about to vanish rather than risk a run-in with the Puzzle seated on the desk. His original idea had been to slip out of the window…

And for a moment Yugi swore the other teen looked almost pensive as he glanced at it again. But, rather than disappearing, he strode for the door. It was almost as if he had somehow come upon the idea to cease any impulse to use magic in case the Puzzle might have attempted to counteract it…

Yugi shivered.

He was thinking of it as if it were alive again…

"Stay here. With me," Yugi murmured, shifting onto his elbow and leaning up. Yami paused in his steps, turning his head to stare at him over his shoulder with narrowed eyes. His long lashes were thick and dark enough to keep Yugi from being able to catch even the barest hint of red within his gaze. "Please? I worry about you when you aren't around and I…I miss you sometimes. So…stay here."

The statement made his eyes narrow further. Yugi lowered his head some, feeling somewhere between desperate and hopeful as he ducked his gaze. Now he could see the faintest glimmer of violent red, catching the emotion in the other's eyes. The action was enough to make Yami turn more fully to face him.

And the curiosity in his gaze was burning as he blinked in response to his intense stare, but no words left him. The seconds seemed to pass sluggishly once more. Yugi felt as if the air were growing heavier around them and his heart was skipping beats as the seconds stretched into long minutes.

"For how long?"

The smaller boy stared at him in avid confusion.

The question was so far from the range of possibilities of what he had expected Yami to say that he almost thought he had misheard him. He had expected him to sneer at him that he'd gotten what he wanted. He'd expected an argument as to why he did not need to stay there. He had expected him to snort and smirk and laugh.

But the question made Yugi scramble into an upright position. He felt winded still, his heart racing within his chest now. Possibilities had opened with Yami's simple inquiry and it was amazing to him. But his eyes were caught on his, glittering with cunning and menacing caution though it was mostly overpowered by curiosity.

"I don't know," Yugi admitted softly, chewing his cheek as he watched him. "For as long as you wish to be here. I won't kick you out or anything. You can come and go as you want. I just want to know that you're okay if you go for days without seeing me or something like that. I honestly don't want you getting hurt or anything like that…"

"So, really, you wish to have me remain here with you so that you do not have to worry anymore."

"No, I'm always going to worry, Yami. That's not ever going to chance. It's human nature to worry about someone else. Especially if they…make you feel more."

"More?"

"More. I don't have another word for it. I could say you make me feel. But there's a wide array to that and I can't just pin it down to one emotion. And I don't want to just…leave it like that," Yugi admitted. He gave him a small, shy smile that made his eyes brighter and left Yami blinking in surprise. "Maybe you make me feel them more intensely. Or maybe around you it becomes a balancing act that I both love and hate. You push me until I feel too much but when I'm around others it's almost like I feel too little. I don't have a medium yet."

"You expect to find one?" Yami asked slowly, drawing the words out and narrowing his red eyes faintly. He looked him over, considering his statement, and then curled his lip slightly when he saw that the intensity in Yugi's eyes had not changed.

"I think it's possible. I also think that you run away from me so often because you don't actually  _like_ feeling aside from not having that hollow sensation that we both share. I think that you feel too much and it comes out sharp and brutal for you and you hate it because of that. And I hate that you bring out my emotions that same way. I'm used to them being manageable and now they're everywhere."

"Your problem, not mine—"

"Oh, but it  _is_ your problem as well," Yugi laughed, getting up now. "Oh yes, Yami, I've noticed it. That was why you got so aggressive with me when you were trying to prep me and after I offered to show you that you didn't have to get so scared like that.  _You_ are  _just_ as affected by this all as I am. The only difference is that I am not running and you think you still can."

Yami bore his teeth, snarling quietly. The noise was so feral that Yugi honestly feared he might resort to attacking him to keep him away. His shoulders had risen and his spin was pulled tight, ramrod straight. His eyes were flashing brilliantly in warning.

But he had not touched him before aside from holding him against the wall those few times or pinning him against the bed and squeezing his throat lightly. He had not fully turned his wrath on him. He had not hurt him more than once. And that was something that now held Yugi in momentary rapture.

Because Yami knew limits.

Because Yami knew better.

Because Yami was vicious but he was not going to lash out stupidly.

He knew  _better_.

And that was all that kept Yugi safe now.

They looked at each other. And Yugi could not help it when he began to smile faintly, his lips pulling to the left as a new realization began to creep into his mind as well.

Yami would not harm him now.

He would not lay a single finger on him in aggression.

He felt trapped, corned like an animal in a cage too small for him, but he would not lash out.

He would snarl and snap his teeth if he got too close.

But he would not attack him.

He would not lash out and break him as he had the potential to.

Rather, if he thought it safe to look away, he would disappear in a flash. He would retreat instead of risk himself. Because he knew that Yami felt volatile, as he had many times before, and that was more of a fear than anything Yugi could inflict in him at the moment.

The step he took forward made Yami snarl louder. His teeth gleamed in the lamp's yellow light. His eyes flickered and his pupils dilated for a moment. He looked feral, ferocious, but he did not step back. And his eyes were clear despite his intimidating stance. He was not lost somewhere in the back of his mind, behind the instinct to fight back.

Yugi smiled a little wider at the knowledge. Then he moved closer until he could almost touch him.

"What the  _fuck are you doing to me_?" Yami spat softly, narrowing his eyes into slits. They glittered with an intense and violent focus. He glared at him through his long, spidery dark lashes. And Yugi could not help but smile a little wider. He tipped his head to the side, then reached forward to catch his hands.

The deity stiffened, growing statuesque in position, and fell silent.

Something soft and small was brushing against his subconscious. For a moment he could not process the lack of threat. His mind was trying to find a reason to lash out. He was trying his hardest to justify it. But then he smothered such an impulse.

There was a soft, subtle sense of reassurance in the touch. The smaller teen was clearly attempt to make him feel better.

It was not truly working.

But Yami could at least reward his efforts with a simple touch of his attention.

Though, when he was honest with himself, he was not sure he truly could have turned away at this rate. Things seemed inexplicable to be moving much too fast for his formerly fatigued mind.

"I won't hurt you. You know I don't have any plans to do that. But I also don't  _want_ you  _getting_ hurt either, Yami. I don't want you getting hurt physically or otherwise. I might not understand it and sometimes I don't think you do either—but it's there."

Yami stared at him blankly, processing the words. His fingers twitched but Yugi simply held them a bit more, eyes flickering about his.

"And it runs so deep, doesn't it, Yami?" he pleaded, watching as the taller teen tilted his head minutely. He licked his lips and searched his expression once more. Yami was not pulling away, at least. "And it  _hurts_ when we're apart—maybe not to the point that it burns or even really  _begins_ to ache, but it's there. It's like having a phantom limb and still feeling it there even when you know it's not really anymore. Maybe that's why you get so angry and act so violently sometimes or why I keep reacting so passively."

The red-eyed teen stared at him blankly once more. His silence stretched out for what felt like the longest five minutes of his life. Then his eyes abruptly flickered to their hands, where Yugi's still encompassed his, folding them together.

He pulled at his left, tugging it from his grip and blinking wide eyes when Yugi allowed his fingers to slip from his grasp. When he gave him a shocked look, furrowing his brows, the other boy smiled at him gently, raising a brow playfully.

"I won't keep you here." Yugi released his hands completely but did not back away, watching him closely and feeling warm that he was even still standing there. He knew that there was not a force in  _any_ world that would keep this living, breathing storm in place should Yami decide he needed to escape then and there. "But I want you to stay. Maybe not forever, because we might not need each other for that long, but for now…"

" _Why_?"

"Because you're just as lost as I am. It would be easier if we weren't so completely lost that we couldn't find each other at the end of this, right?"

Yami narrowed his eyes once more. His irises flashed like a pair of coins tossed into the air in the direct ray of a bright light. They were hit at just the right angle to make them gleam and sharpen like blade points.

"You hate being alone just as much as I do. I can tell—I could tell when you first started coming back here and talking to me around stealing my stuff." Yugi paused, biting his lip and then laughing softly when Yami gave him a startled look. Clearly the deity had not expected him to have noticed he'd taken some random souvenirs. The red-eyed teen had never done anything to hide it but Yugi had also failed to argue with him as he must have expected him to. But he had never taken anything too important—the most valuable thing he had snatched from his desk in the middle of the night had been a small picture of him and his grandpa, one of which he had  _multiple_ copies of. "You hate it, but you don't want to be around me often either. You're a loner by nature, but you don't want to be completely isolated. I know that. I understood that when you started showing up more frequently."

Yami narrowed his eyes, curling his lip slightly in unease.

"It's a contradiction, huh? You tore my Dark Magician card because you wanted to make me hate you enough that the next time we crossed paths I would not want to have anything to do with you. And it worked for all of five minutes. But I… Yami, as miniscule as our exposure was, I still ended up having darkened thoughts and I know you wound up feeling guilty for doing it."

"I don't—"

"You don't need to lie to me. I could feel you like you felt me that week. After you tore that card and I attacked you, I felt all of your guilt. I felt your confusion and your grief later. And you felt my anger and melancholy. That's why you came back to me with it," Yugi muttered, shaking his head and glancing over his shoulder for a moment. His eyes fell on the drawer he'd put the torn card in, taped only days before when he'd been able to finally look at it without wanting to sob. It had taken hours, his hands shaking from the utter pain.

He turned back to the taller teen now, eyes full of grief but a small smile on his face, trying his hardest to make Yami feel slightly better. He was sure he felt that dull ache that came with the very thought of the card.

"Yami, there is a reason for it,  _right_?" he asked softly. "There has to be a  _reason_ for all of this—sharing our emotions, those brief little images that cross our minds when we do something like brush hands. It's…it's in the way we bring out each other's worst…and maybe our best too…"

"Your best?" Yami scoffed. "I have never brought out the best in you."

 _Tea_ brought out the best in him.

But Yami would never speak such a sentence. But he felt almost as if Yugi had come across this same thought as well, whether he cared to say it or not.

"Maybe not  _exactly_ ," Yugi agreed, nodding slightly, "but I remind you that you have a conscience when you seem to conveniently forget that you're stuck in a human body. So I don't know about you, but I think that makes it a good thing on  _your_ behalf, right?"

"And what benefit do you gain from this, exactly? I get a little bit of my conscience back and you get  _what_ , Yugi?"

"I get to know that you're safe," Yugi answered, smiling gently at his cynical expression once more. Yami's red eyes darkened, glittering with disbelief, but he did not bother to fight him. "That you're safe and I am not going to find out that there was some kind of freak accident or somehow our bond fucked up and you wound up dying somewhere or something. And I get to know that I am  _not_ completely alone despite feeling that way almost  _constantly_. And then I get the feeling that I have the  _right_ to experience the emotions that I do. I guess…when it comes down to it, I get security in it all. So…stay here. With me."

"I…"

"We can always figure this out as we go along, Yami. We have time. And it won't be nearly as nice as someone would hope and maybe it will be more mentally abusive than anything else, but I am willing to try if you are. I'm tired of only feeling partway. I want you here."

"And you would go through mental abuse just so that you could know that I am okay?"

Yugi nodded. "Gladly."

"You're an idiot."

"And you're a coward."

Yami bared his teeth in annoyance, his snarl low and soft. "You frustrating little bastard," he hissed. Yugi backed up when he started forward, matching him step for step until he hit the edge of his bed.

He searched those red eyes for a moment, checking for any violent impulses that the other might not smother. Then he snatched his shirt tightly in his fist and threw himself backwards. The deity spat out a noise of startled anger, visibly thrown off balance by this sudden action. He fell straight into him, hissing as his legs came in contact with the bed. The smaller boy gave him a wide grin of amusement, twisting the fabric of his shirt.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on, Yami—prove it to me that you're not just a coward. Stay here. Lay with me. Hell, fuck me if you want, but  _stay here_."

"Why are you being so  _adamant_?"

Yami was hissing angrily, his movement ceasing completely as Yugi arched his back to rub his hips against his in a leisurely circular motion. The impulse to throw his head back and moan his pleasure was overwhelming, but he clenched his jaw and swallowed roughly to smother it. The deity reached forward and grasped tightly at the comforter for purchase, cursing mentally at the feeling of the smaller boy moving against him so softly.

It was nothing but gentle brushes of skin against clothing and yet he swore he would unravel at this light sensation. Yami drew in a deep breath, holding it in his lungs, and bit his tongue to hold his pleasure at bay.

There was a loud and sharp noise that cut the air, like seams splitting. Yugi turned his head sideways, startled almost enough to stop his ministrations altogether. The other boy had completely torn the comforter at his hip. And his fingers were shaking finely, his nails scraping at the surface with each twitch.

Yugi moved his hand, tightening the fabric of his shirt further. His other hand moved to sling over his shoulders, pulling him closer and holding him completely in place. His palm pressed heavily against his chest now, the fabric hot and seemingly stuck where his skin touched it.

Yugi shivered when a rough, strangled pant left his lips, turning back to see that Yami was watching him with wide, dilated eyes. He was furious but his wonder was growing and his pleasure was harder for him to ignore than he would have liked to admit. And, as Yugi watched him, he struggled not to laugh.

"Because I care and I want you to stay safe."

Yami gave him a glacial look, clenching his jaw once more. An involuntary moan was smothered again, making him pant before he sneered, "You say that as if you love me". The tone was one of pure hatred and Yugi blinked stupid at the words. Then he burst out laughing, shaking his head at the declaration.

"I don't," he stated simply, smiling widely in amusement. "I don't know if I ever  _could_ , to be honest. But that doesn't define the reason behind someone caring for someone else."

"You want something from me," he presumed, moving to open his slightly when the smaller teen began to push against him in a soft motion once more. Yugi leaned forward and pulled slightly on his shirt to bring him impossibly closer.

The other boy snarled softly at the sensation, bracing himself harder against the bed. He licked the backs of his teeth in order to keep from moaning, nearly choking on the saliva in his mouth. His grip tightened further to keep his position and the comforter tore more violently, splitting at the seams and snapping loudly beneath his fingers.

Yami bit at his tongue, mouth watering more than ever. The close proximity allowed him to smell the soft sweat that still came from his pores. The deity turned his head, brushing his lips lightly against the smaller boy's teen. Impulse made him open his mouth and he nipped at his jaw, teeth slick with saliva but harsh where they sank lightly into his skin. He pulled back again, licking at his skin and nearly moaning once more.

"I want you here. That's all. Beyond that, you can do what you want, Yami no Yugi. I can't stop you and you won't listen to me if I attempted to argue my point some more. We're at an impasse as far as that goes." He reached out to run his free hand under his shirt, fingering the smooth ridges of his spine where his back arched faintly. "But I want you  _here_ , Yami. I want you at the house even if it's just to tell me that you plan to leave for weeks or months—or however long. I want to hear you  _tell_ me that. I don't want to have you gone for so long and without a single warning. It makes me worry and it frustrates me."

"You ask for far too much." Yami spat the words into his ear, muscles taut as his body tensed with pleasure. He gasped, swallowing away his moan, but his mouth was watering and his arm shook where he clenched his hand on the comforter.

His impulse was to throw Yugi more forcefully against the bed. He wanted to lick and snap his teeth and draw blood while giving him as much as he had gotten minutes before. His breath came in a ragged whistle, ghosting over his skin, and the smaller teen groaned in response.

Yugi hissed out another breath in his ear, then moved his hand out from beneath his jacket and shirt. His nails dug into the fabrics, pulling as the taller boy snarled in acknowledgment and encouragement at the slight pressure of pain the action produced.

"Masochist," Yugi teased softly, breathless before laughing. The taller boy was startled, red eyes wide and shocked by the declaration. But his expression quickly morphed again, twisting into an impatient snarl. His gaze was narrowed, boring violently into Yugi's now. "You don't think that demanding I never go out with someone else isn't the same as what I've just asked of you? I know you aren't going to go away forever and certainly not if you think I'm going to be entertaining myself with them. Like I said before, you won't let me experience pleasure unless it's  _you_ who gives it to me, isn't that right, Yami?"

He bristled at the way his name came from his lips. The tone was almost warm but full of laughter as well, and Yami wanted to lash out for a brief moment. But then he shivered, the impulse and his unease swept away with the movement.

His voice would not come out for a long while, however, before a strained strand of it came, tight and ragged in a breathless pant that led into a small, trembling purr. "Do you even know what it is that you are saying?" he demanded softly.

"Yes. I'm well aware."

Yami snarled softly at his quiet laughter. His teeth chomped loudly next to his cheek. The incisors brushed his skin. His breath came hot, almost wet and searing against his skin. Yugi snickered louder, releasing his shoulder in favor of sinking his hand into his hair.

"I also know that I don't really have that many options right now anyways. Regardless of you being here, I've only ever been interested in one girl and you scared her away anyways," Yugi snorted, smirking at the red-eyed teen who scowled at him with a slightly disgusted look. "And I have no doubt that I would  _not_ be funny if my best friend was suddenly found with her heart ripped out because of you."

Yami made a scoffing noise, snapping, "Whatever. She provoked me."

Yugi burst out laughing, halting his movements altogether. His guffaws only grew louder when he took in Yami's expression. His eyes had grown wide, startled, and his jaw had set into a violent scowl. His lack of movement had not gained any amusement from the taller teen. He had been too lost in the smaller boy's actions to really know what to do now that they had stopped.

"Provoked you—because she asked me out. Yeah— _okay_ , Yami."

"Shut up," the deity spat furiously, baring his teeth in annoyance. He gave him an impatience look, hateful as he snapped without words for him to begin moving again. But Yugi was laughing too hard to do more than choke on his breath. He was turning red in the face, his amusement glittering in his beautiful eyes.

And, finally, Yami lost his patience altogether. He threw Yugi backwards, forcefully, into the mattress. His knee pressed into the furniture now as well, allowing him to all but loom over him. "She does not deserve you."

"And you do?"

"No. But I want you and I have you. So I think I win regardless of worthiness."

 _Worthiness_ …

Yugi truly liked the sound of the word. But he did not think it completely fit with such a statement. He chewed his cheek as he fought the impulse to say so, unsure whether Yami would respond well to these words. Instead he shook his head once, breathing in slowly and backing up on the bed to allow the other to climb on and straddle him.

"You don't have me.  _I_ have  _you_. And if you  _want_ me, then agree to my terms or I'm going to enjoy having fun with dating and experiencing one-night stands and—"

"You would not," Yami snarled. He bristled and his eyes flashed with something Yugi thought seemed almost like fear there amongst them. He blinked, startled by the vulnerability that made his expression so readable, but the moment passed. His face twisted into a sneer, voice cold and angry like a snake waiting to strike. "You are blackmailing me."

"It's the same as you've been doing to me, Yami. I think it's only fair, right?"

Yami opened his mouth at first with the objective to argue. Then he fell silent. A huff left his lungs, loud and petulant, and his lips moved to his neck. His teeth sank into his skin enough to make him yelp in painful shock, clawing at his back in a panic for a split second. Yami pulled back with a snicker and Yugi bristled in irritation, scowling at him.

"You have no endurance for pain."

"I don't  _enjoy_ it," Yugi corrected him coldly. "Just like I don't like inflicting it either. You know nothing about me."

"We could change that."

"Unless you agree, then no."

Yami stayed silent for a moment. His eyes flickered about his for a few long moments. Then he narrowed his eyes and curled his lip. "Why would you wish for me to be here when I scare you?"

"I'm not…exactly scared  _of_ you. I fear the things you  _do_ , what you  _can_ do, what I know you've already  _done_ ," Yugi explained softly after a moment's hesitation. He frowned, whining in the back of his throat when Yami moved to push his legs further apart with his knee. A small trickle of fear made him want to clench his legs shut, but another part of him simply ignored the idea altogether.

When Yami nudged him again, it was in invitation for him to wrap his legs around his waist. But the smaller teen could not find it in himself to do so for the moment. He found himself unable to stop his eyes widening drastically, his spine tightening, as he heard the zipper of the deity's pants being drawn down.

"It's not so much fearing you," he continued, forcing himself to focus on something else entirely for a moment. "If I did…well, you wouldn't be here right now, Yami."

The dilated red eyes narrowed and he peered at him through his lashes, fire against obsidian for a moment. His lips curled back faintly, his eyes flickering about his. "I will not change for you," he declared with a sneer. "You may bitch at me until I lash out but I will not change who I am just for you."

Yugi shook his head slightly. "I don't want you to change, Yami. I wouldn't ask you to. You already know what I ask and that's it."

"To stay here…with you," he confirmed. "And that is all you require of me?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"That seems so stupid."

"Then maybe you were right and I'm really an idiot. But it's true that's all I want. And that's all I'll take from you. Just stay here, give me a head's up if you are going to leave for any amount of time." He shrugged. "And shit—be gentle. I swear if you start like you did before I'm going to tear your eyes out."

Yami chuckled softly but did not argue, instead nodding and reaching to back to tap his fingers against his thigh, Yugi hesitated a moment longer, then lifted his legs to wrap loosely around his waist. "Very well."

"Very well?" Yugi repeated in puzzlement. "Very well what?"

"It means that if you can face your fear of what I can do and who I am, then I can certainly compromise and stay here."

If Yugi had not been so painfully aware of just how badly Yami did not wish to be there or how strongly he opposed staying with him Yugi would have been offended. But he knew the root of his fears and insecurity and it was the only thing to truly calm him. Because, had anyone ever thought to say that to him before that, he would have been offended. He would have questioned that statement a million times, tossing it around in his head over and over until he felt he might go insane.

But instead he hissed and chewed his cheek as Yami brushed his teeth against his temple as if he wanted nothing more than to sink them into his flesh. His breath came out in a small hiss, almost as if he was struggling to contain the urge to do just that, and he shivered. Or maybe he wanted to lick the entirety of his face as he had at the arcade.

This time he would have a real reason to do so that would not involve pissing Yugi off for the hell of it. But either way, he was not exactly pushing at the idea of doing so. He was not trying to force more of himself onto the smaller teen.

And with that realization came another.

Yami was  _so warm_ now…

"Just go slow," Yugi murmured when he found that Yami had paused and seemed to be debating his next move. "You won't hurt me."

Yami raised a brow in clear dissatisfaction towards hi words, questioning him in apparent disbelief. Then he shook his head. He pushed his own doubt aside enough to brace himself fully against the mattress and press against him completely, pushing just enough to squeeze the head in.

Yugi winced, realizing with sudden clarity just how foolish this entire choice had become. He had not fully thought it over and now that he considered it at its most pivotal of moments, he knew without a doubt that he was not truly ready for all of this.

The turn of thoughts was something that the deity bypassed completely. But he did stop, turning his head and staring at him. He gave him a look that said very clearly that he could take control if he wanted, that he had the chance to tell him to back off at any time he wished.

But Yugi had resolved himself already. He scrunched his face up and squeezed his eyes shut, trying his hardest to banish the idea from his mind. His body was tense for what felt like hours but he knew had to have only been a few short minutes and a small wave of shame filled his insides a she came to terms with his.

Had this not been his idea?

Had he not agreed to just this?

There was no room to back out—or, rather, there was, but he would not do it. He had been the one to declare this outcome a possibility. And he had already done this very thing with the other boy minutes before.

He would not back down with all of these facts staring him in the face.

"Okay," he muttered, nodding despite the small burn that lingered beneath his skin. Yami narrowed his dark eyes, skeptical of his shaky voice, but did not question him. His choices were his own to make; there was no reason for him to interfere. He moved forward again, surprised when Yugi did not object but clenched minutely and then forced himself to relax almost immediately after.

When he could not move any further, the deity felt faintly satisfied. But there was also a trace of faint irritation as he balanced his weight more comfortably. Yugi chewed his cheek for a moment, breathing roughly at the sensation and struggling to unclench his jaw. His face was still scrunched up, his eyes narrowed as he looked up at him.

Then he shook his head slowly, opening his eyes, and gave him a small, strained smile. The expression spoke of clear, extreme discomfort more than it did pain. "You can move if you want," he stated softly. "Just, you know…go slow?"

Yugi could not be sure if it was because of the fact that he had showed him the same courtesy minutes before or if it was just that he had asked that made the other teen nod. But he was well aware that Yami was testing his balance and working to pull them into a somewhat more controlled position.

His legs were still wrapped around his waist in what was now a vice grip. And Yugi was abruptly aware of the fact that this hold would most likely bruise his inner thighs later. But when the deity moved to arch his back slightly, his spine was soft beneath his fingers as his shoulders rolled under his fingers. The smaller boy reveled in the sensation, allowing it to distract him from the way Yami gently pulled away from him until only the tip remained inside of him. It came to him as he began to push inside just as slowly that he had lost his virginity—twice, in both ways.

It was such a distinctly clear, odd and satisfying thought that it was almost humbling to him. His lips twitched, then pulled into a wide smile as he closed his eyes and splayed his palm more comfortably over Yami's shoulder. The taller teen let out a soft chuckle that prompted him to open his eyes into slits. He stuck his tongue out as he thrush back in with the smallest touch more force. The smaller boy licked his lips, the motion pleasurable, strange and uncomfortable all at once.

Yami shifted his hips slightly, trying to find some kind of angle with which he might bring the other into a fit of mewls. He scrabbled at his back with pleasured little cries. But the taller teen could not seem to find that point. And his mind circled relentlessly around the question of the location of his prostate.

He cursed somewhere in the back of his thoughts, nearly snarling in frustration. He remembered only vaguely that he had not had the foresight to attempt prepping him again before doing this. But most of his senses were focused on the fact that Yugi was so hot and soft around him. It was almost as if he had dipped himself into a natural hot spring, where the waters would have ripped and lapped at his skin like liquid fire. But he did not think a spring could truly compare, however, with the way that he stretched to accommodate his size. The sensation was so perfect that for a split second he had to admit it felt like they were meant to be together like this.

Yami had been hoping for so terribly  _long_ that it would simply be a one time thing. He had been sure that it would give him the energy he required. He had convinced himself that it would help to make him more powerful and solidify his body once and for all. He had been so assured that it would help to empower him completely.

But it had occurred to him, of course, even as he had attempted to leave, that it would not be so. He needed more than this. And he was now encompassed so fully by the sensation of Yugi wrapped around him and the bond that existed there. It had twisted his thoughts now, forming a roadblock in which it cut through his former thoughts. He wanted to purr, to move without thought, and the impulse was so compelling that it was warning enough to prevent losing himself in that thought.

Yugi pulled him closer with his legs, bringing him somehow even further inside of him. The smaller teen's fingers traced a path along his shoulder to his hair. Then he released his shirt to creep under the neck of it and touch along the knobs of his spine. For a moment he remained frozen like that, merely looking and massaging. Then he finally tugged on Yami's hair lightly with his left hand, pulling him closer to press their lips together.

Yami shifted his hips again, pivoting, and bit back a small snarl of frustration at the lack of progress he seemed to be making. The smaller teen moved to rub his neck in something almost akin a comforting motion. But it did nothing to calm him.

Rather, Yami began to grow further irritated, bristling furiously at his inability. He should not have  _needed_ him to do that. It should have been easy for him to find it so that he could make him moan and writhe. It was incredibly frustrating to think that Yugi could even  _feel_ his mounting irritation as well.

 _You're thinking loudly_ , Yugi whispered into his mind. His hand tugged lightly upon his hair again.  _You need to calm down some, Yami_.  _You'll find it soon enough_.

Yami nearly pulled away to snarl at him that he did not need his reassurance. Hatefully, he thought to snap his teeth and sneer at him. But the smaller teen let out a small, startled yelp which made Yami falter for a split second.

It could have been pain or pleasure.

Yami could not focus on it completely.

A sense of fear had come over him, making him stop in place.

But then Yugi looked at him, bucking against him and purring with satisfaction.

 _Right there_ , the smaller teen purred. He pulled back to breathe, shivering from where he was pressing himself back into the pillow behind his head.  _Right_. There…

The taller teen let out a small growl, deep in his chest. He reveled for a moment in the satisfaction that came with this new development. He pressed his face into his neck, licking as he moved his hips a little faster. The smaller boy encouraged this action with another buck that made Yami snarl softly. He picked a rhythm that was not entirely as fast as he had drawn the other into before, but it was enough to begin to tire him as he continued moving.

The smaller teen moaned softly, rocking his hips in lazy little motions that made Yami hiss behind his teeth with pleasure. His hips continued moving, his back arching and his nails clawing at his shoulder and scalp. The hand in his hair pulled once, then drifted lazily to his shoulder and pressed gently to coax him into leaning further forward, to stretch across him completely.

He was not entirely sure if it was because they had already done this minutes before or if he was giving in to that primal sensation that existed between them. But the more primitive connection between them begged that he speed up, make Yugi cry out and writhe in a mixture between pain and pleasure. But the red-eyed teen ignored this, his control frayed but held together at its core. And the fight not to give in to such instinct was enough to make Yami grow more erratic in pace, a growing fatigue tugging at his skin.

The lazy rolls of his hips made the red-eyed teen almost whine. Yugi pulled on his hair lightly again, rubbing his cheek against his. He was breathless and flushed, sweating. And it was only a few minutes into this act of their skin sliding against each other that it suddenly occurred to Yami how hot he truly felt. His blood was moving faster than ever and he swore he was going to combust at any moment…

Yami panted, a harsh noise that made him shiver as the other teen echoed him. A small bead of sweat landed against Yugi's shoulders. The smaller teen blinked, staring at this drop of condensation in shock. The taller teen ignored his wondrous expression, arching his back and rolling his shoulders again. Yami breathed out a rough exhale, his arms shaking for a moment, his control slipping completely as his body seemed to drop in energy. He was not paying attention to him. He was lost within a spiral of heat and power, but he was easily brought back to himself when Yugi began to pepper his eyelids and forehead with kisses.

"You okay?" he asked gently, drawing his lips back into a soft smile. His half-closed eyes were bright despite the exhausted look that lingered there. Yami stared at him for a long minute, unsure of what it was that he should say or do in response. Then, slowly, he nodded and rubbed his cheek against his for a split second. He pulled away, rolling over onto his side next to him and breathing hard.

"You seem pretty fucking winded now," Yugi snickered cheekily now. He winked when the other boy snarled in annoyance and rolled his eyes. But Yami did not look at him again for a long minute and so Yugi wondered if he had truly offended him.

"No strings attached? I can leave whenever I desire?"

Yugi froze in place, staring at him for a moment as disappointment crashed through him. Then he sighed, mumbling, "Yeah…just tell me when you're going and how long you think you'll be gone."

Yami stayed still, moving only to stretch his neck out and lay his chin flat upon the pillow as he struggled to gain his breath again. "I'm not going anywhere right now," he answered in a mutter, just soft enough that Yugi could catch the words as they trailed off.

Yugi was frozen, unsure of what more to say to that.

"Yami no Yugi…"

Yugi startled at the words, head snapping towards him. He stared with wide eyes but Yami refused to open his own to glance at him. He shifted his weight and rubbed his chin lightly against the pillow, sinking further into the soft material.

"I guess I could get used to that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! I have no idea when I'm going to start posting the sequel to Behind You, but just remember that Yugi and Yami might be a little cozy in this last chapter now that they've had sex, but that means nothing for the two of them since their relationship is still going to be JUST as complicated as it was in this story (actually it probably gets more complicated in it? Hmm...).  
> Anyways, in the sequel, you get to learn a bit more about Yami and a couple of new characters are officially introduced. Yay!
> 
> On the subject of other things, Sky Dance's sequel is all but finished aside from edits but when it's done I'll be posting it here and ff with a similar schedule to its prequel. STB will be updated HOPEFULLY soon but I have a couple of things that I have to work on before I really go into updating.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll answer any questions or reply to any comments if someone wants to leave me one. Anyways, thanks for the read~


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